News and Opinions

Brain Blasters

Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on September 15th, 2006

With The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee became the new kings of British horror, and their frequent co-starring roles made them a tandem the likes of which the industry hadn’t seen since the heyday of the Karloff-Lugosi double-threats of the late-30’s. Their films for Hammer and Amicus have long been fan faves, but the film I’m going to sing the praises of here doesn’t have quite the same profile as the likes of Horror of Dracula. Most horror fans of a certain vintage no…
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Wii Details Revealed

Posted in News and Opinions by Michael Durr on September 14th, 2006

Nintendo’s Japanese conferences have announced some Wii details; more than likely they will not change with today’s US conference, but here’s what we know so far:

* Wii will retail for $250 and release on Nov. 19th. Will include a pack-in game (been a while since we’ve seen that) – Wii Sports.

* The system will include a web browser, digital photo viewing and a connection to news and weather ‘channels’. Hopefully what the ‘channels’ are will be clarified soon.

* Virtual Console…
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Old School Demo

Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 14th, 2006

Buy at Amazon.com

Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.

With the recent news of MGM green-lighting Terminator 4 as a future tent-pole release in the near future, I thought it would be appropriate to go back and revisit Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines on DVD.

The Terminator and T2: Judgment Day were sci-fi/action marvels anchored by James Cameron’s expansive imagination and eye for detail. While …
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Dare to Play the Game

Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on September 13th, 2006

PS3 Shipments, Moonwalking to the beat of a different drummer, and the Devil May Cry in joy – Welcome to the broken nose job of game columns known as Dare to Play the Game.

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that had a really strange week. Those of you who are close to me probably understand more than the general populace reading this column. But lets just say I got some me time and will have a lot more me time in the upcoming …
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Highly Defined – The World of High Definition

Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 11th, 2006

We all know what today is, so let’s skip the tagline.

Well, for all the news (interesting and otherwise) that the Blu-Ray camp made last week, Universal announced their round of November titles for HD-DVD release. Among them are Waterworld (I met Kevin Costner on the set of that film when I was in the Army, true story), The Hulk (a better movie than people give it credit for and one that should blow out a subwoofer or two) and the granddaddy of them all, King Kong. Release for all three…
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Brain Blasters

Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on September 8th, 2006

Remaking cult movies is a risky proposition. By their nature, they are going to have a rabidly loyal fan base, and therefore the people most likely to be interested in the remake are also the people most likely to be hostile towards it. This is the lesson being learned the hard way by Neil LaBute. His remake of 1973’s The Wicker Man is in the theatres now. He faced a barrage of criticism from the fans even before he’d finished his work. He’s unlikely to hear anything different now. Both films tell a similar st…
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Dare to Play the Game

Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on September 6th, 2006

A Full Roster, Forgotten Worlds & A Good Hard Drive crash – Welcome to the 2 bit processor in a 64 bit world known as Dare to Play the Game.

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that hates hard drive crashes. My hard drive of 6 years or so crashed on Friday. (I love beeps). However, my fairly new (less than a year) hard drive is just fine. So all the really important stuff was really on that drive anyhow. I however had to restor…
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Wireless HDMI – due soon?

Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2006

There you have it, HDMI over UWB. Time to get creative with your setups!

Highly Defined – The World of High Definition

Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 4th, 2006

Insert silly saying here, I’ve got no energy to do so, for it’s the day of rest in America.

What can I say, I’m going to sit and watch my butt expand this go round (damn, I’m doing it now), so here we go…

As far as the firmware update goes for the Toshiba HD-DVD players, I did manage to download it last week and throw in Constantine for some scenes, and I’ve gotta say I definitely noticed a change in quality from the Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks. There was mnore active low end fidelity an…
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Brain Blasters

Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on September 1st, 2006

Back in the sixties, Gamera was Godzilla’s poor, trailer-trash cousin. This flying, fire-breathing turtle (but of course!) gallumphed his way through a series of films. The first, under its North American release title Gammera the Invincible (the one time there was a double “m” in the name), is a pretty decent monster flick for that period, with some fine destruction, and introduces Gamera’s fondness for children (so though he trashes cities, he can’t be all bad). US-shot scenes were added to the original, and…
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Old School Demo

Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 31st, 2006

Buy at Amazon.com

Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.

Say what you will about Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, but there’s no doubting that it’s one of the best sounding films of all time on DVD. In my opinion, it is THE BEST. By now the film looks a little outdated, grainy in places and just fuzzy and washed out in others despite being certified by THX, but the sound more than makes up for it.

The subsequent…
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Dare to Play the Game

Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 30th, 2006

Gaming Heaven, Raging Fantasies, & a little Ray-Man – Welcome to the raging hormone that can only be described as a tertiary nipple known as Dare to Play the Game.

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that found a little black chair of happiness this weekend. I picked up a video rocker from Target. It cost $100 ($38 after gift card) but was well worth it. It is very nice faux leather, extremely sturdy, and you can plug it in for the speakers…
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Highly Defined – The World of High Definition

Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 28th, 2006

I feel like a kid in some sort of a store…

Well the week has seen some surprises, concrete or not for both camps. First and foremost, the 2.0 Firmware for the Toshiba HD player is out now. There has been some glowing praise, not only for the firmware (which now allows TruHD), but for the continuing consumer support. Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits was the first to really publicly comment on the job Toshiba (and the HD camp is doing), and while as an HD owner I can agree with it, one also has to remembe…
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Brain Blasters

Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on August 25th, 2006

You’re a fan of Eurohorror, especially the Italian variety. You’ve seen everything you can find from the masters: Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Riccardo Freda, Michele Soavi. You’ve exhausted the catalogue of less reliable but nonetheless important figures such as Lucio Fulci. You plunge deeper, sleazier, in the company of cannibal-meisters Ruggero Deodato and Umberto Lenzi. Ere long, you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, tracking down the incompetent, boring, but at least gory work of the likes of Bruno Mattei (
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Old School Demo

Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 24th, 2006

Buy at Amazon.com

Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.

Mr. And Mrs. Smith will likely be remembered more for being the film that put Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on the road to saving the world, one Cambodian child at a time, than being an enjoyable action-comedy film. Though despite all the media buzz over the film prior to its release, it actually turned out to be a financial and critical success, unlike Gigli, a film tha…
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Dare to Play the Game

Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 23rd, 2006

Power, Madden and a little Butterfly – Welcome to the series rehash with no new features and year old rosters known as Dare to Play the Game.

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that has no real stories to tell. My birthday came and went. I got some cool presents (Fry’s GC, Messiah (NEX), Target GC, EB Games GC, etc) but nothing too crazy. I actually haven’t spent any of my gc’s yet. I’m being pretty particular and know exactly what I’m af…
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New Release Tuesday

Posted in New Release Tuesday, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 22nd, 2006

Hello, I’m your fill-in host for the week, mister Kedrix (your game columnist). Yes I’m back again, after I swore I wouldn’t be. Call it an obligaton, call it a true pain in the… Anyhow, in this edition of the New Release Tuesday blog, we get a good look into this weeks top releases. Some good Criterion choices and some good HD/Blu-Ray for a change. Well,on to the lists…

Top Film Releases

Kicking and Screaming and Seduced and Abandoned,…
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The Death of Plasma

Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2006

Ars Technica asks today “Is Plasma Doomed?” Citing the fact that LCD’s now overlap with plasma in terms of size and (arguably) picture quality, along with the fact that certain manufacturers are stopping plasma development and production to shift to LCD’s, the author suggests that “Plasma vs. LCD” is comparable to the apocryphal “Beta vs. VHS” battle.

Anyway, interesting observation that plasma is getting clobbered, but personally, I can’t see i…
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Avdeco – the exploding component / TV shelf

Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2006

Watch your back if you own an “Avdeco” branded component and TV shelf with glass shelves:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=713200

Highly Defined – The World of High Definition

Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2006

Highly Defined

How long until Madden comes out?

Just the usual news and notes from me, but in mildly disappointing news, RoboCop, and Black Hawk Down, 2 Blu-Ray titles that would have made the race a little more interesting, were pulled or bumped from the released calendar until who knows when (presumably until the whole MGM/Sony distribution issue can be hashed out).

Meanwhile in terms of other release news, while Blu-Ray owners can’t wait for the previously released Warne…
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Brain Blasters

Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 18th, 2006

And so, after a long summer, it has finally come to this: Snakes on a Plane ceases to be a hot-weather fantasy and becomes a reality. Now we can all see whether this creature that became a cult before it was even finished can in any way live up (or down) to our expectations, hopes, and fears. Let us pause, then, and reflect on killer snake movies from the past.

The question as to whether Snakes on a Plane will be any good is completely irrelevant. A look back demonstrates that there has never …
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Old School Demo

Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 17th, 2006

Buy at Amazon.com

Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.

No matter what happens to Mel Gibson after his infamous arrest and anti-Semitic tirade, one can’t deny that he’s made and starred in some powerful films throughout his career. Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, Signs, Passion of the Christ… the list goes on. However, one of my favorite Gibson movies has always been The Patriot.

Basically an update of Braveheart< ...
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Dare to Play the Game

Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 16th, 2006

Condom Jokes, Gaining that Ground, and Spewing forth a collection for the masses – Welcome to the gym sock that you used to catch your deposits known as Dare to Play the Game.

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that is kinda down this week. Yes, you read that right, mister game columnist has a a couple of depression issues. Well I turn 31 on the 19th, and to be perfectly honest it kinda sucks. Traditionally my birthdays have not beenvery …
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New Release Tuesday

Posted in New Release Tuesday, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 15th, 2006

Hi, I’m your fill-in host for the week, mister Kedrix (your game columnist). You know, one would think I know nothing about dvds, except the fact I’m looking at 400 of them in my new revolvey case thing. Anyhow, in this edition of the New Release Tuesday blog, we get a good look into this weeks top releases. A good smattering of releases this week, particually in the TV department. Well,on to the lists…

Top Film Releases

Some good schlock this week to get…
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Highly Defined – The World of High Definition

Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 14th, 2006

Where your trusty columnist has joined the ranks of the Xbox owners…

Things have moved along like people have figured in the next-gen DVD wars, which is to say, there isn’t a clear winner since the last time we talked. There is some news from Paramount, being that Mission: Impossible III will release SD, Blu and HD DVDs all on the day and date (10/30 for those who are curious). The HD release and extras will be duplicated from the Blu-Ray extras, with the exception of a picture-in-picture commentary …
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