Collateral was also Michael Mann -- he's one of the few directors out there today who really knows how to shoot in digital, instead of just treating it like cheap film.

Unfortunately for the DVD market, what both Collateral and Miami Vice show off brilliantly about digital cinematography is how much rich/crisp detail you can get out of very dark night scenes, which isn't something most TVs are able to reproduce, especially after it's been downcoverted to standard def.

28 Days Later was shot digitally on the cheap, and IMHO is perhaps the prettiest horror movie I've ever seen. Props to the cinematographer.

The difference in output device is really a big deal, which I did not understand until I started watching DVDs on my computer. On the TV, low-contrast comes out fine. On the monitor, dark, murky and dark.

(Unless I am doign something wrong with the monitor, but, the brightness and contrast are as high as they can go! I can only watch sunny musicals and comedies on my computer, as a result.)

Ah. I've been watching the things you mention on my TV. That might actually explain it.

ETA: My TV broke last night, during the Torchwood finale. It won't come on now. Nothing happens when I plug it in. Wah. It's quite old, though.

Torchwood was so intense it actually broke your TV set!? I wonder what it will do to bittorrent....

It broke right at the end of the 1st part of the 2 parter. I'm going to have to BitTorrent it myself to see the rest. I still don't think my brain fully understands I HAVE NO TELEBOX.

Wow, I'd heard people joke about the hotness of the Captain Jack/real Captain Jack kissing being likely to melt TV screens, but I assumed it was just hyperbole ...

(Torchwood ep 12 spoiler above)

Ack, can we move Torchwood spoilers to Boxed Set, or at least label them?

Am suddenly glad I didn't highlight that, heh.

I'm not entirely sorry I did, now I just want to get home faster....