Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 27th, 2006
From Kotaku comes news that the Microsoft HD-DVD addon for the XBox360 will sell for $199 US. This includes a "Universal Media Remote," and for a promotional period will include King Kong as well. So - TCO for HD-DVD is potential as low as $499 (xbox core = $299, plus HD-DVD add on) - not a bad cost of entry and certainly competitive with PS3's blu-ray hoopla and the BR players on the market.
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 25th, 2006
Wow, something special makes the top 100 in Amazon sales…
Well if you read comic books and own a next-generation DVD player, this was definitely your week to primp and preen. Batman Begins is coming out on 10/10 to HD-DVD, along with Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both films will include the Warner In-Movie Experience (and Batman’s will apparently include participation by star Christian Bale if you look at your Warner inserts right). Begins will get a TrueHD track that ...
Posted in: Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on September 24th, 2006
Recently, Anchor Bay released, at long last, Cemetery Man< to DVD. In so doing, they made available one of the last gasps (for now) of truly first-rate Italian horror, and it might be worth while to spend a few minutes considering the director, Michele Soavi, a man who has been nowhere near as prolific a filmmaker as might be devoutly wished.
In my piece on Joe D’Amato a few weeks ago, I mentioned that the best film he was involved with was Soavi’s debut, StageFright (1987). One of the fascina...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2006
Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.
On paper, 2001’s Pearl Harbor must have had the studio big wigs licking their chops. Randall Wallace (Braveheart) was penning script. Action director Michael Bay (Armageddon) was going to finally direct something serious. Hot stars Ben Affleck, Josh Harnett and Kate Beckinsale were cast as a love triangle set against the back drop of the historic Japanese sneak atta...
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on September 20th, 2006
Losing a Head, Having a Heavy Barrel and WIIIIIIIIII! - Welcome to the old wooden roller coaster with a missing set of tracks known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. May you never experience what it is like to have your house half full and your heart empty. Anyhow, just fixing up the old house; painted my back door and it actually looks decent; just needs another coat. Replacing all my light bulbs with those CFL's but slowly a...
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 18th, 2006
If you take $17,000 from your company and you leave without any form of punishment or prosecution, can your resignation really cite “personal differences?”
You know where your Cedia is? It’s one of the other big electronics shows that helps announce and introduce new technologies. One of the more remembered announcements was Toshiba’s announcement of a 2nd generation HD-DVD player. These newer versions include shorter load times, HDMI 1.3, and in one case, full 1080p resolution. There are two models, look f...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 15th, 2006
Amazon has a well deserved reputation as a (generally) excellent retailer and purveyor of leading edge business models. Their new movie download server - Amazon Unbox - however, is according to Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing, rife with awfulness.
From a software client that borders on malware, to TOC's that sign away your right to your purchased content, the service is plaugued by the typically heavy handed legal stylings of the MPAA. <a href...
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...
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...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 14th, 2006
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 ...
