Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 11th, 2002
Well. Where to begin? At this point, no-one expected less than a truly amazing DVD release of Episode II from Fox, and true to form, they have certainly delivered. The Attack of the Clones release sets the new standard for audio and video, as did Episode I before it.
It is interesting, though, to examine this DVD relative to the release of Episode I. The Phantom Menace DVD had a lot riding on it – the first Star Wars film to be released on DVD would set the precedent for future releases, and it had the furt...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 10th, 2002
Written by Dan Bradley
Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) has been about everywhere on earth, including to hell and back. It only seems fitting that his tenth feature takes him not only into space, but into the future as well. With the highest production value of a Jason movie to-date and one of the niftiest extra features I’ve ever seen, Jason X’s futuristic settings, slayings and familiar action feel right at home on DVD.
The plot for Jason X is simple, albeit a huge departure from previous slasher films. After repeated execution at...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 9th, 2002
What Killed the Mega-Beasts?
Wow! This Discovery Channel documentary uses high-end (not quite Monsters Inc., but getting close…) animation to bring to life the out-sized creatures that populated the world between two- and fifty-thousand years ago. Live action and animation are blended smoothly to create truly excellent scenes of monster-sized beavers, and of Native American mammoth hunts – truly a spectacle to be seen and very well executed. These animated sequences are seamlessly blended with the Disc...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 5th, 2002
Synopsis
The conspiracies are in full swing in this season. There are some very ambitious episodeshere too, notably “Triangle” -- a time travel tale shot primarily with very long takes.
Audio
Very, very nice sound. As with most TV shows, the music dominates the surround, but thereare some good contributions from the sound effects as well. The result is an expansive feel to thesound unusual for television productions.
Video
Though there is a ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 30th, 2002
Written by Dan Bradley
Rifling through my father’s LP collection as a child produced many musical memories, ranging from Kiss and Pablo Cruise to the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. It wouldn’t be until years later when I would fully understand the impact those very Beatles had on the world’s culture then and continued to influence today.
For most Beatles fans, their memories are relived through new digital masters of the original recordings on compact disc. With this digital revolution, the Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night can f...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 24th, 2002
Written by Dan Bradley
The formula for sequels to highly successful films has been practiced by filmmakers for decades and continues to flourish today. It’s quite simple: take what audiences loved in the original, add more of it and throw in a twist. Guillermo del Toro's Blade 2 follows this rule of thumb and creates a film that is bigger, badder, louder and more entertaining than its predecessor. It should come as no surprise that the DVD edition of Blade 2 surpasses the original Blade’s disc in every imaginable way as well.
It...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 28th, 2002
Film
Bruce Willis, Samual L. Jackson, Ving Rhames, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth... and the list goes on. Never has one singular film launched the careers of so many actors as Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. This film brought John Travolta back from actor's purgatory, and gave almost every other actor a jump-start to their careers. This film is genius - from the plot, the style, and the acting. Tarantino is very unique, and he out-did himself with this film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 22nd, 2002
”Movin’ on up". The Jeffersons did just that… all the way up to become one of the highest rated and longest running sitcoms in television history. There have been many memorable African-American television characters… but who could forget George and Weezy Jefferson? These characters will live on forever, and this set helps to continue there legacy.
Audio
In 1975, when this series began it illustrious run, surround sound was not even an after-thought. That being said, it is very u...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 17th, 2002
Jet Li is the “Contract Killer” (“Sat sau ji wong”) in this direct from Hong Kong 1998 martial arts thriller. Budget? Nope. Plot? Not really. Jet Li? Definitely. This movie is dubbed, and the comedic voices are almost worth the price of admission, especially when they keep switching at various points through the movie. Its really amusing to see Jet Li change from normal to baritone from one scene to another, and its great listening to the “Kwan” character, who’s voice seems to have been done by a young Jason Alexande...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2002
Exceptional! Starship Troopers (Special Edition) is a must have in any movie fanatics collection. Combine a controversial cinematic and special effects masterpiece with a superb DVD release, and Columbia-Tristar has a sure winner in its catalog.
Paul Verhoeven’s (RoboCop, Total Recall, Showgirls, Hollowman) 1997 adaptation of Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers is stunning not only for its Academy Award nominated special effects, but also for the volume of controversy that the film elicited amongst c...
