# Osage's Take On...ENDER'S GAME (Blu-ray; Summit Entertainment/LIONSGATE)



## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

[img]http://www.avsforum.com/content/type/61/id/359715/width/500/height/700/flags/LL[/img]*Releasing/Participating Studio(s): Summit Entertainment/LIONSGATE
Disc/Transfer Information: Region A; 1080p High Definition 2.40:1 (Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1) 
Video Codec:  MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Tested Audio Track: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring Cast: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Abigail Breslin 

PLOT ANALYSIS:*

I know there has been some critical acclaim and gushing over this “sci fi gone nuts/_Star Wars_-for-juveniles” Gavin Hood exploitation that fuses elements from _Tron_ and even _Event Horizon_, but I must wholeheartedly disagree with the way in which the film was called “SPECTACULAR!” as evidenced on the cover of _Ender’s Game_’s Blu-ray release from Summit/LIONSGATE. To be honest, I didn’t know what was going on here most of the time and lost interest a mere 20 minutes in; to make matters worse, the film stars a Ben Kingsley that looks and acts more menacing – if you can believe that – in the brief stint he plays here than he ever came off as in the actual final film version in _Iron Man 3_ playing Tony Stark’s most infamous archenemy, The Mandarin. The film is based on an acclaimed science fiction novel, of course, and purports a plot that suggests a “genocidal” alien race known as the Formics have strategically invaded Earth of the future (a la the opening frames of films like _Pacific Rim_ and maybe even _War of the Worlds_), forcing the Earthlings to come up with a response tactic. This comes in the form of young “Ender Wiggin” – I know…I laughed at the name too – who is groomed by the futuristic military organization assigned to protect and avenge Earth (the “International Military") to lead the fight against the Formics. Asa Butterfield, a name as weird as the character he plays, portrays Ender Wiggin, while Harrison Ford portrays Colonel Graff, the hard-edged senior commander of the military teams put together to fight the Formics. The uber-cute Hailee Steinfeld plays Petra Arkanian, Ender’s eventual love interest during his training and fellow soldier, while Abigail Breslin plays Ender’s sister Valentine. Rounding out the cast, for the most part, is Ben Kingsley, portraying a facial-tattooed warrior who once showed the military the way to somewhat defeat the alien enemy, Mazer Rackham. Incidentally, Mazer’s “way” of “defeating” the Formics was to actually steer and, seemingly, fly his fighter into the mother ship…does this sound familiar? Kind of like…hmmm…let’s say Roland Emmerich’s _Independence Day_?

Oh, how we want to forget that it was Randy “Cousin Eddie” Quaid who saved mankind from the aliens in that…

Getting back to _Ender’s Game_, you must really have to understand and fully get involved in the book the film was based on to understand what’s ultimately going on here – the film comes off like a strange mixture of _Aliens, Tron, Elysium_ and even _Star Wars_ but replaces honest-to-goodness adult characterizations with little kids – some of which aren’t more than five feet tall in the case of “Bonzo Madrid” (played by Moises Arias) – whom are saluted by senior adult staff members of the military and given missions to command on their own. The whole thing came off silly to me, but, again, it must be the premise of the novel; most of the running time of _Ender’s Game_ is spent developing the main character’s training and honing his “unusual skills” to the point he’s more in line to be a commander officer for this future Earth’s military than any “adult” under Graff’s watch. Ender goes to a “battle school” complete with _Tron_-esque virtual reality simulators and games, designed to teach the kids in this academy how to engage the Formics when their next conflict with them comes. There, he moves up the ranks to the point he’s put in charge of his own squad of kids, many of whom were once bullies to him, while making new enemies along the way, such as the ridiculously short and loud-mouthed “Bonzo Madrid” (Moises Arias), a Latino who is known as “Bonesaw” to the kid soldiers under his “command.” Pushed around and bullied during training by this Bonzo, Ender stands up to him and physically defends himself – a trait Colonel Graff noticed in Ender earlier on and why he wanted him to be chosen to lead the military forces – which ultimately leads to an undertone theme of the film…that which suggests by standing up to a bully early on and hurting him, future messages to other bullies will be sent and therefore will make them think twice about starting up with what is perceived to be a weakling. I don’t know…did this ever work for you in high school when the moronic, testosterone-fueled jocks picked on ya? Were you ever made to feel like you were the hero, not the imbecile beating up on you while the school’s hottest chicks cheered him on? And why is it in all these films – Sam Raimi’s first _Spider-Man_ included when “Flash” Thompson attempts to beat up Peter but gets a butt-whuppin’ himself by the gawky teen -- it’s suggested that if you are in fact picked on and bullied, it’s absolutely NOT okay to fight back and give the animals who hurt you a taste of their own medicine? Why is this shunned upon in popular culture? Are we just supposed to stand there and take it? And then all of a sudden we’re complete “freaks” when we fight back? _Ender’s Game_ touches on this most often overlooked aspect of growing up in more than a few sequences.

As the final simulation training tests come to a close and the military prepares Ender for a real full-scale war with the alien race confronting them, some other elements come into play: Ender himself is beginning to have reservations about attacking their so-called “enemy” without even trying to communicate with them first, while also meeting Ben Kingsley’s Mazer character, who trains him for the final battle based on the experiences he himself had with the enemy before. There’s also some kind of reference to a “mind game” Ender engages in, one which makes him realize the alien queen may in fact be attempting to communicate with Earthlings even after its army was pretty much wiped out by the Earth military in their last confrontation. The whole things gets very sci-fi to the point it feels like it’s being poured on like thick maple syrup on buttermilk pancakes and unless you’re deep into these video game-esque-visions-turned-motion pictures, it’s going to make things all the more frustrating as you watch it. 

Ender and his team of young warriors make one final simulator room training session, with Graff and senior military staff watching from an observation platform, faced with the fact they have one last chance to get this simulation right in order to prove to the higher-ups they are worthy to engage the enemy…but is this “training” what it seems? Is this really just a “training exercise” or was Harrison Ford’s Graff character manipulating and lying to Ender all this time for some secondary motive? And, ultimately, was this kid named Ender right about any of his premonitions regarding the alien queen and being able to communicate with their race? You’ll have to endure _Ender’s Game_ to find out. 

[img]http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Enders-Game-10.jpg[/img]*VIDEO QUALITY ANALYSIS: HOW DID THE DISC LOOK?*

While the material on display was questionable, the 2.40:1 1080p encode prepared for _Ender’s Game_ on Blu-ray by LIONSGATE/Summit looked sensational with rich, deep blacks, solid facial detail (and detail in general), noiseless and grain-free elements and highly stylized colors. The blacks of space were infinite and dimensional and the whole presentation took on a specific _Tron_-like appearance with somewhat floaty, surreal visuals from time to time. The yellows and blues of the spacesuits gleamed with a genuine glow, while the foliage exhibited in the future Earth shots were ripe with that typical high definition clarity we have all come to know and love…you know, blades of grass were detailed and individualized, barks of trees exhibited nooks and crannies, the concrete of streets were rendered so realistically you could almost walk on them through your display…all the elements that are, most of the time, rendered “washed out” in DVD transfers. 

There were moments of contrast blowout, where the screen would get blindingly bright to the point details were lost – but these were no doubt filming and photographic decisions, not a fault of the Blu-ray transfer. 

[img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VJjhHuR9TgU/UpzgPhMxdRI/AAAAAAAAASg/-igN2uD2aHc/s1600/enders-game-tv.jpg[/img]*AUDIO QUALITY ANALYSIS: HOW DID THE DISC SOUND?*

Again, the review sample of _Ender’s Game_ I received by an editor of a publication I work for on a freelance basis contained only a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track even though this was a Blu-ray release. There is some controversy over this matter which I have discussed via multiple email conversations with not only my editors but representatives at some of these studios, like LIONSGATE, and which purports, in a nutshell, that rental and review samples given out for some major titles (from some particular studios) are going to contain lossy – not lossless – audio tracks due to a host of factors. Still, the Dolby Digital mix here, running at a higher bitrate than standard DVD, was absolutely no slouch and was perfectly acceptable for the material on display. From the opening sequence onward, the track exhibited wall-pounding bass, incredible dynamics and clear center channel presentation that really drew me into the visuals (though I was admittingly not interested in the material). 

As a side note, the "commercially available" Blu-ray for Region A comes equipped with a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track in English. 

What I found surprising on this track was the somewhat shallow and light use of the surround channels in the mix; what stood out was the virtual reality simulation training sequences when the kids are firing mock phasers at one another…these sequences were accompanied by aggressive, whooshing whips of audio cues that fired this way and that over my head and across the whole soundstage, really waking up the soundtrack. But in general, there was a distinct lack of surround activity outside of these scenes – moments that could have benefitted from discrete digital cue placement. Be that as it may, the LFE on this mix more than made up for the surround staging (or lack thereof) as explosions and tension-ridden scenes were accompanied by deep, forceful wallops of bass that had my sub shaking to bits and my walls and everything on them ready to crumble. I may have even detected – at somewhat “standard” volume levels – a momentary snap/crack from my sub, often indicating the bass is so deep and plumbing that my particular model just can’t handle it…so you know that means the LFE on this track is more than capable of rocking the house. Literally. 

[img]http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130220224537/ansible/images/6/69/Enders-Game-Battle-School.jpeg[/img] *FINAL THOUGHTS:* 

This wasn’t my cup of tea, but as always, your mileage and interest in film will vary. To me, it was like watching Anakin Skywalker in a pre, pre, pre-quel of George Lucas’ space opus attempting to “command” a legion of other Pampers-wearing space cadets that are supposed to be the “answer” to Earth’s military response in case of another alien attack. The novel this is based on probably gives all the answers to these “issues” I had – and more – but I don’t have any personal experience with the book; Harrison Ford tries his hardest as the senior commanding officer of this squad of the future while Ben Kingsley is sort of wasted in his rendition of the tattooed warrior that once saved humans from these beings, as he’s not given nearly enough screen time to develop any sense of formidable characterization (though, notably, he was better in this than he was in the awful _Iron Man 3_). 

In the end, I found _Ender’s Game_ a bit of a strange science fiction film, one that would be better suited to true sci fi geeks that appreciate the concept of kids going into space to train in a futuristic military of some kind. I can recommend a rental for the fanatically curious; it wasn’t a buy for me, personally. 

And, unfortunately friends, I am not going to be able to review the next title I'm about to watch tonight, the remake of _Carrie_, due to its "R" rating...my apologies.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

I had not read the book and saw the film in the theater. I thought it was a very interesting story and might read the book sometime. I would not count it as spectactular, but very good. I thought the detail was lacking in the theater, but that could have been the projector used. It looked soft and pasty in the flesh. The colors were saturated but seemed to lack dimension and detail.

I also noted the distinct lack of any thing interesting in the audio for most of the film, with the scene you describe seeming almost from a different mix.

Certainly worth a watch, but it would not be a purchase for me.


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Thanks for the review O. I passed on Paranoia so far so I might get this one Ford can't make movies for ever and we usually enjoy his work.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

I like him, but honestly he was not the high point of this one. The kid and Kingsley were both more interesting characters. The scowl he gives in the scene above is representative of some of the bit overstaged presentation of the character he gives. It's almost like he was trying too hard to make it spectacular.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

lcaillo said:


> I had not read the book and saw the film in the theater. I thought it was a very interesting story and might read the book sometime. I would not count it as spectactular, but very good. I thought the detail was lacking in the theater, but that could have been the projector used. It looked soft and pasty in the flesh. The colors were saturated but seemed to lack dimension and detail.


Yes, now that you mention it, I do recall some facial closeups -- notably the female characters in the film -- looking a bit pasty and flat; Harrison Ford's and Ben Kingsley's close-ups, however, looked detail-endowed on the Blu-ray to the point you could make out every pore, nick, facial hair and mole. 



> I also noted the distinct lack of any thing interesting in the audio for most of the film, with the scene you describe seeming almost from a different mix.


As we all know, theatrical mixes and the soundtracks we experience on optical physical media at home can vary wildly -- as such, I found the lossy Dolby Digital track on the "tester" Blu-ray I received to be extremely bass-heavy with wallops of deep LFE, while exhibiting rather loud, punchy dynamics in general. The "phaser testing" sequence amongst the kids, as mentioned, brought the track to life, indeed, as the laser cues found their way into the surrounds and across the rear soundstage in an aggressive, satisfying fashion. 



> Certainly worth a watch, but it would not be a purchase for me.


I agree.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

B- one said:


> Thanks for the review O. I passed on Paranoia so far so I might get this one Ford can't make movies for ever and we usually enjoy his work.


Hey Bran, as always thanks for the comments!

Indeed, Ford is and always will be a talented actor -- and of course we'll always remember him for his performances in _Star Wars_ and _The Fugitive_...even _Clear and Present Danger_. But Leonard summed up his presence in this accurately with his last comment in the thread...:T


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

This was a blind buy for me, I like Harrison ford movies for the most part and the story idea interests me so it will be in my player tomorrow night


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

Thanks for the review Osage. I will add this to my growing list of rental movies!


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

tripplej said:


> Thanks for the review Osage. I will add this to my growing list of rental movies!


You're welcome, Joe, and as always, thanks for reading and commenting! Stop back in and let me know what you thought of it once you see it...

And when are you gonna begin actually WATCHING these films?? You have the system and room up and running and in place with that awesome TV and the electronics...so what are you waitin' for? :foottap:


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

I will pick it up used, like most movies we pick up, for $9.99 or less on Bluray from Family Video. And we can always put it next to Erased.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

B- one said:


> I will pick it up used, like most movies we pick up, for $9.99 or less on Bluray from Family Video. And we can always put it next to Erased.


Oh, wait -- was I wrong? Was it YOU that just doesn't get around to watching the discs you buy??!! If so, I apologize to Joe above -- my goodness, man! Start watching those discs you're stacking up there!! addle:addle:addle:


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> This was a blind buy for me, I like Harrison ford movies for the most part and the story idea interests me so it will be in my player tomorrow night


Thanks for your input, Tony; please check back in with the thread when you've had a chance to watch it!

Did you pick up the Blu-ray or DVD?


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> You're welcome, Joe, and as always, thanks for reading and commenting! Stop back in and let me know what you thought of it once you see it...
> 
> And when are you gonna begin actually WATCHING these films?? You have the system and room up and running and in place with that awesome TV and the electronics...so what are you waitin' for? :foottap:


You know who the boss is right? My wife.. lol.. The only time I can watch things is during the holidays when I am off. Outside of that, it is all honey dues and/or kid activities after work.. A Happy wife is happy home! 
Funny, nobody mentions a happy husband is a happy home.. :huh:


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Osage_Winter said:


> Thanks for your input, Tony; please check back in with the thread when you've had a chance to watch it!
> 
> Did you pick up the Blu-ray or DVD?


Always BluRay  DVD is painful to watch on a 120" screen


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

tripplej said:


> You know who the boss is right? My wife.. lol.. The only time I can watch things is during the holidays when I am off. Outside of that, it is all honey dues and/or kid activities after work.. A Happy wife is happy home!
> Funny, nobody mentions a happy husband is a happy home.. :huh:


Oh but for goodness sake, man! You're always on here spending time chatting with us (I know we're all fine folk and all, but...) and she lets you do that...start watching some FILMS! We need your feedback on these titles...:T


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> Always BluRay  DVD is painful to watch on a 120" screen


Ahhhh got-cha...:T


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Soooo, let's see what can I say.....
Watched it tonight and what I can say it's video and audio are way up there for awesome! But, that's kind of where it "ends" pun intended 
I have not read the book and by the sounds of it it's probably a good thing. This movie had great potential but it missed the boat. Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining (and that's more less why we all are on here right) but it could have been so much better. The ending in particular made me think "not another Indiana jones ending like the 4th movie" sigh, oh well. 

Worth a watch and hopefully the next instalment will fix the mess (oops, should I have let that out of the bag) LOL


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> Soooo, let's see what can I say.....
> Watched it tonight and what I can say it's video and audio are way up there for awesome! But, that's kind of where it "ends" pun intended


I'm assuming your copy came equipped with the 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track? If so, I'm glad to hear it was up to snuff as compared to the lossy Dolby Digital mix on the "review" sample I was running...it sure was a barnstormer, especially in the LFE...



> I have not read the book and by the sounds of it it's probably a good thing. This movie had great potential but it missed the boat. Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining (and that's more less why we all are on here right) but it could have been so much better. The ending in particular made me think "not another Indiana jones ending like the 4th movie" sigh, oh well.
> 
> Worth a watch and hopefully the next instalment will fix the mess (oops, should I have let that out of the bag) LOL


I agree with pretty much your whole assesment of the film; I think I too would have been completely lost reading the novel this was based on. This was _way_ too _Tron_-meets-adolescent-_Star Wars_ for me...:sarcastic:


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Yes, the BluRay had the 7.1 DTS MA mix


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Figured as much...:T


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

tonyvdb said:


> Yes, the BluRay had the 7.1 DTS MA mix


and an amazing one at that.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

So it seems the lossless mix was as aggressive and memorable as the lossy Dolby Digital track on the reviewer circuit Blu-ray I was delivered...interesting. Did it exhibit the same kind of wall-pounding LFE?


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> So it seems the lossless mix was as aggressive and memorable as the lossy Dolby Digital track on the reviewer circuit Blu-ray I was delivered...interesting. Did it exhibit the same kind of wall-pounding LFE?


it was insane... there was a LOT of sub 20hz extension


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## ericzim (Jun 24, 2012)

Hi Osage, thanks for the review. I will pass on this one for now having read the book back in 1986 or 87. The story was a very good read and as I figure per your review probably didn't translate very well to film. I might check it out as a rental down the road just for the sub 20hz stuff Mike mentioned. Watching any movie is still rather difficult at this time.


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

I read the book a few years ago.
It was an OK book.
Many pages before the reveal I had very strong suspicions.
We will eventually get it through Netflix or Redbox.
Anything Sci-Fi gets bonus points upfront so I will probably like it fine.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Mike Edwards said:


> it was insane... there was a LOT of sub 20hz extension


Excellent...

Do you have any information regarding why some of these studios are releasing Blu-rays with lossy audio tracks (like, in this case, _Ender's Game_)? The representative from LIONSGATE I have been speaking with via email, Stephen Dixon, won't go any further than telling me they have been "dumbing down" some of their review and rental releases "in the wake of streaming popularity" by way of excluding lossless surround tracks and extras...but this makes zero sense to me. Have you heard anything about it?


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

ericzim said:


> Hi Osage, thanks for the review. I will pass on this one for now having read the book back in 1986 or 87. The story was a very good read and as I figure per your review probably didn't translate very well to film. I might check it out as a rental down the road just for the sub 20hz stuff Mike mentioned. Watching any movie is still rather difficult at this time.


Hello Eric...

I am SO thrilled to see you back on here, my friend! Again -- my DEEPEST and most heartfelt sympathies go out to you. I am happy you read the review and to know that someone here actually read the novel this was based on; I didn't realize the story went back so many years.

I TOTALLY understand what you mean by watching films being difficult...I don't think I'd be able to do it without my wife being that it has become our "routine;" how have you been holding up, my friend?


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

chashint said:


> I read the book a few years ago.
> It was an OK book.
> Many pages before the reveal I had very strong suspicions.
> We will eventually get it through Netflix or Redbox.
> Anything Sci-Fi gets bonus points upfront so I will probably like it fine.


Hey Chas!

Thanks for the input and for joining the thread; if you do get around to seeing it, please stop back in and tell us what you thought! :T


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> Excellent...
> 
> Do you have any information regarding why some of these studios are releasing Blu-rays with lossy audio tracks (like, in this case, _Ender's Game_)? The representative from LIONSGATE I have been speaking with via email, Stephen Dixon, won't go any further than telling me they have been "dumbing down" some of their review and rental releases "in the wake of streaming popularity" by way of excluding lossless surround tracks and extras...but this makes zero sense to me. Have you heard anything about it?


not on the frequency cutoffs. that's boggled many of us for a long time

as for the dumbed down lossy audio on a few of the studios.. from what I've been able to gather it's because since rentals are usually ripped and popped up on torrents, and since most studios now hate rentals (rentals give them very little income, most of the money they receive is from purchases) they've been dumbing them down to give you an incentive to PURCHASE instead of rent...streaming becoming popular is a smoke screen. it's all an effort to push you away from renting a Chea $1.50 rental and drop $20 at Bestbuy


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Mike Edwards said:


> since most studios now hate rentals (rentals give them very little income, most of the money they receive is from purchases) they've been dumbing them down to give you an incentive to PURCHASE instead of rent


This is more than likely what it is, in a proverbial nutshell.


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## ericzim (Jun 24, 2012)

Osage_Winter said:


> Hello Eric...
> 
> I am SO thrilled to see you back on here, my friend! Again -- my DEEPEST and most heartfelt sympathies go out to you. I am happy you read the review and to know that someone here actually read the novel this was based on; I didn't realize the story went back so many years.
> 
> I TOTALLY understand what you mean by watching films being difficult...I don't think I'd be able to do it without my wife being that it has become our "routine;" how have you been holding up, my friend?


The "routine" has been thus far the most difficult adjustment. I know my wife no longer suffers so I am at peace knowing that which also helps me hold up and cope on a daily basis.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

ericzim said:


> The "routine" has been thus far the most difficult adjustment. I know my wife no longer suffers so I am at peace knowing that which also helps me hold up and cope on a daily basis.


As I noted, I know EXACTLY what you mean...believe me, I do...

If there is ANYTHING I can do -- whatever it is -- from my end to get you through this period, please let me know. :wave:


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