Favi 120" HD 16:9 Projection Screen

     Since I am going to be reviewing movies, I should write up a little review for the equipment I use to screen the movies I will be reviewing. To start I will review my Favi HD-120 Electronic Projection Screen.

     

     I sit about 12 feet from the screen, so a 120" screen seemed like the best option to me. I opted for a cheaper priced screen on Amazon.com. The Favi HD-120 seemed to be a great starter screen for the money, plus it electronically comes down from the ceiling. Couldn't pass it up for the measly $250 for the screen. Similar screens have been priced around $500 and up with the electronic motorized screen. Now on to my thoughts...

     Ever hear the old, you get what you pay for? Well, this sort of falls into that category. Not a terribly constructed screen, very strong metal housing for the screen itself, but only two screws will hold this somewhat heavy screen in the ceiling or mounted up on a wall somewhere high. Lucky for me I have very high ceilings so it was easy to mount it high up on the wall. This thing hangs down about 60" from the point of placement. It's also roughly 109" across. Very big, but fits well in my living room with 25' ceilings and a very open room. The two screws had me a little concerned considering the only hardware it came with to mount the screen were the brackets that were already fastened to the screen casing. It did not come with screws or anchors for that matter. Luckily I had some anchors, it was an awkward length only one side was able to get into the stud. Once it was hung, which was a farily simple procedure in itself I had to hang the transmitter for the remote control(s). It comes with 2 remote controls, one is an RF remote and the other an IR remote. The RF remote is great if your screen comes down in front of the transmitter. Kinda easy to do that because the wire from the casing to the transmitter is not very long so you don't have a ton of options on where you can hang it.  The RF will allow you to activate the screen from anywhere in the room even if there is an obstruction in front of the transmitter (like the screen). Now on to the screen itself...

     The family and I decided to let the kids pick the first movie to view on the screen and they chose Meet the Robinsons. A great Disney movie, I'm not going to review the movie here, but it was a great option because it was a CG Movie, and the colors should be nice and vibrant. We fired up the movie and the screen was great. It seemed nice and bright, had nice vibrant colors but only one flaw I can think of. There are no supports on the sides of the screen itself to keep it from curling up. It's heavy enough that as long as you don't have the ceiling fan on, it won't swing in the breeze. The curling wasn't a huge issue, just a little weird, and it has a very plastic smell. Not a huge deal it was a brand new screen. I would have liked to see a little support on the sides of the screen to keep it straight, but it doesn't curl too much. Once the movie was playing and I was involved in the movie I did not notice it. The screen is a 16:9 Widescreen so the more modern movies look great and fill up the screen.

    Overall, it was well worth the $250 price tag. Yes you do get what you pay for, but the minor flaws are easily forgettable when watching a movie with all the lights off. It's a fantastic starter screen, I will probably use it for a few years until I possibly move or figure out a better space for my home theater. Once I actually have a dedicated space I will most likely look to a fixed screen, but for the money and my humble beginning of a home theater, this screen is great. 

4/5 - Great Screen (Would be a 5 if there was some support on the sides of the screen.)

1931 Dracula Universal Classic Monsters Edition

 

  I just want to start out by saying that I am not usually an enthusiast for old black and white movies, but ever since I saw It's A Wonderful Life many years ago, I began to dabble into some of the classics. That movie changed my views on old movies, as a child I looked down on their colorless images and unfortunately lost sight of the movies themselves. I was incredibly blown away by the stories in some of those classic movies once I finally gave into the colorless images that so often clouded my judgement. Now onto Dracula....

     I enjoy Halloween to a point. I enjoy the feeling of the fall season, and the idea of what Halloween represents for children. As a child, I've enjoyed my fair share of Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday the 13th movies. My sister and I rented hundreds of horror movies from our old video store, we were almost obsessed with them. But, as of late I have lost the enjoyment for horror movies, that is until I saw the old 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi. Lugosi brilliantly performs the Dracula that so many others have mimicked time and time again. He was creepy, had that legendary Dracula stare and his voice was brilliant for the old Transylvanian vampire.

     These are some of the negatives (they really aren't negatives), and remember, these are only my opinions. These did not ruin the movie in any way for me because of it's age and the technology that was limited to their time. I always find it odd watching an old movie and noticing there is no film score. It makes the movie feel so empty. The good news or bad news depending on how you feel about it is that Universal added a Philip Glass film score to the film that you can turn on or off in the menu as an added bonus. I enjoyed watching the original film as it was intended, with no film score, and then checking out how it would have been if there was a film score added to the movie. Not necessarily a negative, but something interesting anyways. The only other thing I noticed that could be a negative was the quality of the film's blurriness in some scenes, and how the lighting would get dim and then brighter in certain scenes, but again, it is from 1931 and I would not have expected too much more than what I saw, so really it isn't a negative for me.

     Now onto the positives, I realize I neutralized my negatives by explaining why they aren't really negatives, but honestly, it's the 1931 classic Dracula movie. It is from 1931 and the movie itself has held up great in the 81 years it has survived. This movie should live on as one of the great classic horror movies, although not scary in todays standards since we have become so desensitized. But it has held up well with its creepiness factor. The acting of Lugosi, and his great voice has made Dracula a legend in the horror film world. Dwight Frye's rendition of Renfield, who also had a great creepiness to him, was also done very well, he had to play two parts, and he pulled it off brilliantly (Renfield and Renfield under Dracula's influence). Like any typical old black and white movie, there is usually a feeling of emptiness left by the lack of a film score, the acting definitely made up for the emptiness in the film. Anytime they would show the creepy gaze of Dracula, or even Renfield for that matter, it almost made it even creepier to not have the music. The silence added to it's creepiness. 

To summarize this film is a classic, and hopefully will stay that way for hundreds of years like the great music of Beethoven and Mozart, I hope this film lives on forever. It will be a great watch for me and my family every Halloween, to add to our growing catalogue of great movies. If you are looking for a horror movie that will scare you, this movie probably won't do that. But, it will leave you appreciating what a "real" horror movie is, and how the actors really helped solidify the characters we still talk about and love today. Dracula is the kind of movie you watch to be entertained if you enjoy classic movies. The story itself will always be a classic, and since there are so many versions of this great story, this movie stands out to me as the beginning of its film heritage (even though Nosferatu was filmed in 1922). And what a great beginning it was. Universal did a great job restoring this 81 year old film, and adding some great features to this classic. Again, I am not familiar with any of the Dracula releases, some of these features could have been carried over from them, but I still liked the variety of features there were to choose from. I can't wait to dive into the other Universal Classic Monster Movies. 

Here is my breakdown:

Video: 3/5 (It is probably in the best shape it could be in for an 81 year old movie.)

Audio: 4/5 (Although there was no film score, there was crisp dialogue. The option to add a film score was a pretty cool feature)

Acting: 5/5 (It's awfully hard to overlook Lugosi's Dracula, because of how brilliant he was, but the supporting cast did a great job as well, keeping the movie entertaining.)

Bonus Features: 4/5 (There can always be more, but in my humble opinion what was there was very well done, and added to the movie significantly)

Overall: 4/5 (Legendary status for a reason 81 years later.)

Welcome to my Blu Ray Review Blog.

     My name is Bill Lau, I love movies, I have been collecting movies since I was little. I have amassed a nice collection of movies on DVD and Blu Ray. I have decided that I would like to share my thoughts on some of the many films that I watch. This will be the first of many blogs I will be doing for new Blu Ray releases and more.

     A little about me, I am a musician and a teacher. I have been playing music since I was 5, and have always had a love for entertainment. I always take things as they are, and try and keep an open mind when hearing or watching different things. I may not be the greatest writer, but I can usually convey my messages to the points that I am trying to make.

     If you have found your way to my blog spot and have read on this far, I thank you for taking the time to check out my blog and hope that you come back to read some of my reviews. Like I do, please keep an open mind and understand they are only my opinions, take what you like from them. If there is anything you would like to ask, or know about, don't hesitate to email me. I will email you back. Thanks.