My MacBook was busy this weekend ripping and encoding a number of DVDs. Handbrake‘s latest version really does a nice job encoding DVD rips with 5.1 channel surround via default settings. I was able to get through Monsters Inc., Cars, The Incredibles, and two Caillou DVDs before the weekend ran out. I wish I hadn’t loaned out my copy of A Bug’s Life. I’m trying to decide now which movies to do next. Thank Jobs for Core 2 Duo MacBooks. And no, I don’t have any qualms about ripping DVDs I own.
And speaking of movies, I may was well mention here that I’m eager to see American Gangster at some point, whether in the theater or at home when it comes out on DVD. We’re still getting enough bootleg Cinemax, Starz, Showtime, and HBO to quench our thirst for “something different” than the usual cycle of CSI reruns. We saw most of Hostel the other night, which was a real treat. The slasher/horror genre is not one of my favorites (depending on how you define it), but it’s good, I think, to keep up to speed on the latest vogue in human dismemberment. The whole “vomiting in fear/pain” thing was a nice touch in Hostel, I thought. Leah was repulsed.
Also in movie news, I was disappointed to learn last week that Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are teaming up again to play…wait for it…”New York police investigators hunting a serial killer.” *sigh* I’m a big fan of Michael Mann’s Heat, which featured the last pairing of these venerable actors. De Niro is much better off, I believe, in roles where he can explore the ambiguity of his character (The Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver, The Godfather). Maybe he ends up being the serial killer in this one? That would be cool. And I’m worried that Pacino is going to be remembered as a cop. Or a suit. Especially after films like Dog Day Afternoon. Seems a shame. Does the world need another cop movie? I know there are always going to be cop movies, but you have to wonder at the point of exploring that relationship between pursuer/pursued yet again. I suppose anyone who’s interested in this genre is going to have to see this one just to see what Pacino and De Niro do with their roles, kind of like the woman in my office who insists on going to all the sequels in a films series once she’s seen the first installment.