News and Opinions

Happy belated fireworks day for everyone in the US, happy belated Canada day to everyone up north, and all that jazz. And my thanks to all for indulging me last week about my gripes with DirecTV. As I lube up the ole’ bunghole and prepare to get screwed out of another service call, I celebrate the news, notes and announcements of the past week’s high definition forum.

The big news this week is that Samsung started to leak out some more news about their dual format player, including a release date sometime i...

I recently reviewed Warner’s first volume of the Cult Camp Classics box sets, and had a number of kind words to say about Attack of the 50-Foot Woman. I thought I would expand on those remarks, going on at a bit more length as to why this film is so oddly endearing.

First, to re-iterate the review: “I quote Jeff Rovin: ‘If Attack of the 50-Foot Woman was intended to be taken seriously, it’s the worst film ever made. If it was intended as a put-on, it’s one of the great science-fiction satires....

Finding a Wii to take home, PSP Homebrew no longer brave, & Rainbow Six Vegas DLC free - Welcome to the column that believes that cherry pie is more american than apple will ever be (and tastier too) known as Dare to Play the Game.

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. It's the 4th of July, yours truly gets to host a patriotic U.S. edition of Dare to Play the Game. What makes it patriotic you say? Do I wave a flag and sing patriotic songs? Or do I just ...

Read on about a minor gripe with a major satellite provider.

I’m going to skip the usual news about what comes out this week because it’s The Untouchables, The Patriot and very little else, and tell you a story about how I, as a loyal DirecTV customer, have been trying to upgrade my equipment.

On/about 5/29, I set up an equipment upgrade appointment from the 3 LNB H10 setup to the 5 LNB H20, so I can get the new HD channels running through MPEG-4. I set up the appointment for 6/16 be...

Okay, kaiju fans, there’s another real treat that recently hit DVD. While Classic Media has been releasing one definitive edition after another of the initial Godzilla movies, Tokyo Shock has stepped up with a non-Godzilla Toho effort: 1965's Frankenstein Conquers the World. Present in the 2-disc set are the US release (so if you want to hear Nick Adams speak English, that’s the one to watch), the Japanese version, and the international release. These versions feature a rather different, and utterly bizarre, e...

PSP Games Not Creative, Video Games not Addictive & Shaq not too Bright - Welcome to the column that wishes it was addictive as crack is to plumbers and their ex-girlfriends known as Dare to Play the Game.

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. This past week hasn't been exactly kind. I had two very close friends both get into car accidents and then the Chris Benoit tragedy happened over the weekend (yes I'm a wrestling fan). ...

Shouldn’t you be out at the beach right now?

I don’t know about you, but I burn easily, so I can’t spend as much time at the pool as others, so I get to watch movies, and I watched Ocean’s Thirteen at a theater that just opened down the road from me. The theater itself is pretty nice, the film delivered what it’s supposed to do, which is be fun, so you can’t ask for too much more I guess. Overall, there really isn’t that much to pore over, other than surveys which reiterate what everyone already know...

After a brief absence (dja miss me?), here we go with The Wishlist, Part 2. This time around: The Reflecting Skin. This 1990 British film, directed by Philip Ridley, did get a DVD release in Japan in 2005, but has yet to show up on these shores, and more’s the pity.

The film takes place in the American Midwest in the 1950s, and has the supersaturated colours and creepy beauty one would associated with Terrence Malick, and, as with Malick, all sorts of nastiness lurks under the beauty. The protagonist...

A Bloody Wolf, A Piggy Bank smashed for GTA content, and a Band of Bugs - Welcome to the column that is animal friendly as long as there is no snuggling afterwards known as Dare to Play the Game.

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. Do you realize that this past weekend was father's day? I did, got my father the dvd boxset to Indiana Jones. Yeah I know, they released that many moons ago but my dad still had the VHS tapes. I've...

I’ve got enough tiki torches, guava juice and poi to last awhile.

Well, I’m still trying to catch up on things on East Coast time, even as things in Hawaiian Time are still dark out as of this writing, not to mention just so damn nice out. Anyway, moving on to the news, which is, well, pretty bland, since all of the next gen released equipment is just about to come out or has come out. Blu-ray buyers do have reason to celebrate though, as Blockbuster has announced Blu titles in their stores for carrying. On...