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Topic: American Sniper

Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012

posted 01-29-2015 12:24 PM

quote: Lyle Romer
"that sound system was awesome. When the baby was crying, I thought there was a baby in the theater."

The movie will sound awesome in all formats, its the mix that is important, not so much the sound system.

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Lyle Romer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1400
From: Davie, FL, USA
Registered: May 2002

posted 01-29-2015 01:12 PM

quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
The movie will sound awesome in all formats, its the mix that is important, not so much the sound system.

OK, I'll bite. Explain to me how a baby crying can sound like it is coming from one spot (as it does in reality) and that be the correct spot (not the rear corner in IMAX) in any other current system besides Atmos.

Explain how gunfire sounds like it is behind you in Auro 11.1 that doesn't have rear channels?

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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012

posted 01-29-2015 03:03 PM

Lyle, what you just mentioned mentioned is just "fluff" stuff where the sound might of come directly behind you vs a corner etc etc. Everyone I have talked to about the movie thought the sound was spectacular, what your wife meant to say was "that sound mix was awesome. When the baby was crying, I thought there was a baby in the theater."

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 01-29-2015 03:07 PM

Well now you're splitting hairs. He already said that his wife doesn't know much about sound, so she probably wouldn't know what a "sound mix" is. But if you're sitting in the center of a theatre, you should definitely be able to localize where sounds are coming from in an Atmos system, provided the speakers are loud enough and the room itself is built well for sound (minimal echoes, for instance).

You're just jealous because somebody who isn't a technician actually noticed the difference.

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Lyle Romer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1400
From: Davie, FL, USA
Registered: May 2002

posted 01-29-2015 05:18 PM

quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
Lyle, what you just mentioned mentioned is just "fluff" stuff where the sound might of come directly behind you vs a corner etc etc. Everyone I have talked to about the movie thought the sound was spectacular, what your wife meant to say was "that sound mix was awesome. When the baby was crying, I thought there was a baby in the theater."

We have seen hundreds of movies in high quality theatres, including many in well maintained THX auditoriums. Many of these movies had great sound mixes. My wife has NEVER mentioned anything about a sound system except to complain about how loud IMAX was when we saw The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

The point of my commenting about Atmos is that somebody that could really care less about the technical parts of presentation and is happy if the picture is in focus, specifically commented about how awesome the "sound system" was. This indicates that a "layperson" noticed enough of a difference that it indicates the possibility that installing Atmos can possibly result in more business.

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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012

posted 01-29-2015 05:35 PM

quote: Lyle Romer
The point of my commenting about Atmos is that somebody that could really care less about the technical parts of presentation and is happy if the picture is in focus, specifically commented about how awesome the "sound system" was. This indicates that a "layperson" noticed enough of a difference that it indicates the possibility that installing Atmos can possibly result in more business.

Or perhaps the sound mix was just "that" good. Everyone I know who saw the movie said the sound was incredible, nobody mentioned Atmos and everyone thought the tanks, and gun fire were in the room. I doubt Atmos really had anything to do with it, the mix is what is what was important.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 01-29-2015 06:43 PM

Most laypeople don't mention brand names when they're commenting about movie theaters. In all these years I've never heard one person say "The Dolby sound here is sure good." or "I really like that DTS!" (which we had before Dolby.)

They just say the movie sounded good.

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Buck Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 894
From: St. Joseph MO, USA
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 01-29-2015 09:26 PM

Guys, Terry is right. There is zero chance Dolby Atmos adds anything to the experience whatsoever. Dolby, a multi-billion dollar company, with it's biggest advancement since digital sound, messed up the whole thing. God knows how many millions they wasted. Really is a shame that almost completely reinventing cinema sound and adding upwards of hundreds of individually controlled and powered speakers all around the audience didn't change a darn thing. Cinemas installing this advanced garbage have wasted upwards of 100 grand. Not a person in the world that could tell a difference between 5.1 and Atmos.

[Wink]

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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012

posted 01-29-2015 09:34 PM

Hey Buck, have you seem American Sniper yet?

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Buck Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 894
From: St. Joseph MO, USA
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 01-29-2015 09:42 PM

I sure have!

AMC Barrywoods 24
"Prime" Auditorium, Dolby Atmos

My review almost mirrors Mike's.

Bradley Cooper makes a pretty good "Good ol American boy". I was pretty engrossed the whole feature and my heart just ached for his wife until he came around towards the end. I'll also echo the sentiment "the sniping got old", but agree, that it was designed to.

Also, I can see where people get that this "glorifies war", but they aren't looking past the surface and seeing all the damage that was done to everyone involved. Like Eastwood said, it's quite the opposite.

Sound was fine, but I'll admit I didn't notice the Atmos showcasing quite like I did in Gravity, the latest Capt. America, and the latest X-men.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 01-29-2015 10:11 PM

On the sound issue, some of the most clever and thought-provoking audio mixes I've heard are mono - e.g. Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter. Surround sound, done well, can add a lot to a movie. But if you don't get what you're going to put in the sound mix right, where you put it in the playback room isn't going to help you.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 01-29-2015 10:41 PM

Terry can't pass up an opportunity to troll on Dolby Atmos. That's the only reason why he is second guessing anyone taking notice of an Atmos mix. If the movie had only a standard 5.1 mix and someone said the mix was good Terry wouldn't have noticed.

quote: Mike Blakesley
You're just jealous because somebody who isn't a technician actually noticed the difference.

I think Terry is eaten up over the fact his beloved IMAX brand theaters use a less advanced sound format. He can't stand it. So he has to take every opportunity to shit on Dolby Atmos whenever it is mentioned.

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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012

posted 01-30-2015 07:56 AM

quote: Leo Enticknap
On the sound issue, some of the most clever and thought-provoking audio mixes I've heard are mono - e.g. Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter. Surround sound, done well, can add a lot to a movie. But if you don't get what you're going to put in the sound mix right, where you put it in the playback room isn't going to help you.

I'm going to have to check out High Plains Drifter. I have been saying all along, what you put into the mix is what is important.

I saw the movie T3Ken in AVX with Atmos, the sound was downright terrible [Moon]

With American Sniper the sound mix is just that good, same thing with Interstellar. Birdman is another effective use of sound and the mixing is superb. The movies that are up for Oscar nominations are all going to sound good regardless if they are played back Atmos or not [thumbsup]

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Ron Funderburg
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 814
From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 02-09-2015 11:14 AM

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a comment. The best sound, special effects or 3D doesn't mean diddly if the script is bad, the director is inept, or the acting sucks. Movies are about stories and the crap is just the gimmick to get the customer in the door. I can watch Casablanca, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner or hundreds of movies from the 30's, 40's and 50's over and over while I can't possibly sit through a Jupiter Ascending, or much of the other crap with poor stories and bad actors.

Movies are suppose to be about stories, how many robots get blown up or buildings fall over is just additions they can't make a bad movie good.

If American Sniper was made in black and white with 1940's technology it would still be a good movie. The Director is fantastic and so are the actors. The script is better than good and certainly well above average.

Do I like multi channel sound, YES does it make a movie more realistic possibly. It is only part of whole if the acting isn't there all the great sound isn't going to save the movie. That doesn't mean it wont make mega bucks. Man of Steel made a lot of money but it wasn't the Superman I grew up with in the comics and certainly no where near the movie that Superman 1978 was!

As to IMAX format, I have never been a fan of it. It is just the old saying that bigger is better. I don't like the big square picture or the sound in IMAX.

That is just my opinion take it with a grain of salt and call me in the morning.

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Pravin Ratnam
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 844
From: Atlanta, GA,USA
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 02-18-2015 06:50 PM

So after my winter boycott of chain theaters for the Interview fiasco(different matter altogether that the movie itself disappointed me), I decided to watch American Sniper. Made a mistake by going a week or two too late as it was showing in one of the smaller screens. I figure "OK, maybe the brightnesss of the picture will be good". No luck. It was dim. F you. Regal Theaters (Perimeter POint 10, Auditorium 3).

Pretty solid movie though I thought the final act of the super somber quiet stressed reluctant guy was a little too clichéd. For the record, I think the real life controversies are a little blown up, regardless of the accuracy. He probably did tell some tall tales about Katrina and Jesse Ventura. It doesn't invalidate the excellent work he did in the field(even if it is a war I didn't care for as a waste of resources) and the movie does a good job with the Iraq scenes.

My problem with the movie tone of the post war Kyle is that it needlessly made him a bland clichéd figure in the post war scenes. They just show him dealing with his complaining wife (I know it's real tough on families but don't they understand that their spouses have it tougher). But what they don't show is some of his livelier personality - the same side that has him bragging about shooting people at Katrina or punching Ventura. Not to make a case about lying or anything. But to show that side of him in a non judgmental way where he probably feels the need to keep up the stories and find camaraderie with others instead of the quiet reluctant to socialize guy they show in the movie. That adds a more interesting dimension instead of the one note tone in the final part of the movie. Nothing about conversations between his brother and him after that scene where his brother says that the whole thing is crap? Show him drinking with buddies? Why not show other facets of his life that don't fall in the same old template of the Eastwood lone warrior archetype.

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