Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2007
Via Techmeme this AM: Target to go Blu-ray only for players.
My take? Upscaling DVD is carrying me until widely available broadband downloads make "formats" pointless. That being said, certainly HD DVD looks to be on the ropes, with "free disc" ploys being a sign of desperation, and Blu-ray actively locking down channel partners. I'm willing to bet that Blu-ray will take this battle and keep Sony solvent for a few more years.
Posted in: Site News by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2007
I am a Trans-fan. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've seen Transformers three times in theaters so far, and intend to see it three more. Ok, the plot makes me cringe, the awkward character moments and expository dialog actually make me close my eyes - but the rest of the movie fulfills every boyhood super-destructive robo-fantasy in the most satisfying way possible.
That's why the NYT review of Transformers really bugs me. Reviewer Manohla Dargis apparently didn't pay close enough attention to get basic details straight, stating, for example, that:
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on July 25th, 2007
Hah. Looks like the format wars are over, from DVD Dossier, via Engadget.
We called the store to verify this and were told that, yes, they were wiped out of Blu-ray Discs on Sunday, about seven thousand bucks worth.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on July 25th, 2007
Two interesting movie-related bits have popped up on BoingBoing already today.
The Color of Money: BB points to an analysis of the colors used in top grossing movie posters. Restrictive ratings and big earners are dark and fleshy colored. [from BB]
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions, Regular Columns by Michael Durr on July 25th, 2007
Rock Band breaks the bank, The Wii and HDD?, and why I'm not getting Guitar Hero 80's this week - Welcome to the column that knows no shame and promises to bring it to the rest of you known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I am the unfortunate guinea pig of the new website and blog format. I'm sure the administrators are pure pros at this but I feel all out of sorts. Hey, you know that Wednesday I talked about in my last column; you know the special lunch. It went very well thank you. No, there is no immediate fallout from it; but there is hope for the future and at the very least I gained a very close friend who will probably look differently at me now. (cause I'm a sexy beast...okay not really but it sounds good!) Sorry if I'm a bit weird; I blame it on the new format of the website. It makes me feel crunchy :).
In the inner right-hand column you'll see an area labelled "blogroll" - this is where we link out to other great DVD, Movie, Entertainment, or Whatever sites that we UpcomingDiscs bloggers frequent.
Got a suggestion for our blogroll? Your site? Other good DVD sites? Anything else we really should be reading?
Posted in: Site News by Archive Authors on July 24th, 2007
Yes, the rollover to WordPress has... rolled over. The new UpcomingDiscs is live. I'm working feverishly to sort out bugs and inconsistencies; please bear with me. If you see anything specific that needs attention, please comment here.
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2007
So who knows how Harry Potter ended?
The big disc news this week is New Line’s announcement that they’ll be coming out with next-gen titles, even if the first title is the current musical of Hairspray. Lord of the Rings, here we come? Aside from that, the biggest disc release news appears to be related to discs that don’t have street dates attached to them yet. Warner says that there will be a box set of the first five Harry Potter films on HD DVD and Blu-ray, and there’s even pricing f...
Posted in: Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on July 20th, 2007
It’s been a fairly commonplace activity over the last few years to compare our current troubled era with that of the late-sixties/early-seventies, with special attention paid to discussion of parallels (and to what degree they are or are not justified) between the Iraq and Vietnam wars. In that context, it is interesting to consider the way popular culture has dealt with those conflicts, with particular reference to genre offerings.
This is by way of making a bit of a case study of Deathdream (AKA
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on July 18th, 2007
Bomberman XBLA style, Paper Mario VC, and the bait & switch of the PS3 - Welcome to the column that is about to have a price drop on our old column but only if they soon discontinue it for malicious puns known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. Business has kinda picked up since last week. The situation I referred to last week regarding speaking up will come to be realized at lunch today. I am exci...
