Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 22nd, 2003
Go up front and live with one of music’s fasting rising young stars. Then follow her behind the scenes and find out what she is like in real life.
Video
The fullscreen live concert footage on this DVD is of pretty decent quality. Overall we have a nice sharp image with good dark level delineation, there are some problems with red in the crowd shots and you notice a fair amount of over saturation. The image as a whole is nice and crisp. When we look at the behind the scenes footage it is noticeably softer with a fair amount of grain.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2003
William Shatner refused to reprise his role of Kirk in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home without a promise to write and direct the next film in the franchise. Against their better judgment Paramount agreed, and to this day wish they had not. The story is absolutely silly and the direction very one-dimensional. The truth is, however, that there still are some very endearing Trek moments in the film. DeForest Kelly gives a superb performance as McCoy must face his past decision to allow his terminal father to die.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 19th, 2003
Synopsis
At first glance, a 3 1/2 hour spoken word documentary is probably not something the average person would care to sit through, and certainly not the kind of thing the average DVD aficionado would want to purchase. However, this is not just any DVD set, and the speaker is not just any run of the mill personality. This is an intimate evening with actor/filmmaker Kevin Smith.
This brilliant two-disc set follows Smith to five different American universities, where he simply hosts a que...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 19th, 2003
The eighth season of the X-files brought major changes to one of Fox’s strongest running series. And whenever major changes occur there is always a concern about what is going to happen to the integrity of the show. By the end of the 7th season the worries about what David Duchovny was going to do left fans of the show in limbo. Luckily, the creative team behind the X-files (one of the best in television history) was up to the task.
The season opened with the introduction to Agent Fox Mulder’s replace...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 17th, 2003
Just before the release of their eponymous second album, Portishead gathered at the historical Roseland Ballroom for their first ever performance in New York City. The band brought a film crew along for this special concert. It was a show that featured not only the first performance of much of the new album, but also the added attraction of playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The result is a brilliant and haunting presentation of all things Portishead. This legendary disc should be required viewing for ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 17th, 2003
Synopsis
Though there is a intro that summarizes who’s who and what’s what, if you’re not familiarwith the Storykeepers cartoon, you might well find this a bit confusing (I know I did). Anyway,in 64 AD, a group of Christian orphans and their protector are on the run from the evil EmperorNero (who has henchmen with such subtle names as “Nihilus”). They flee the burning Rome,but do find the time to sit down and hear tales of Christ’s nativity and the like. The animationis primitive, a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 16th, 2003
“Let’s go kick some Christmas butt!” When these are the climactic words spoken by Santa Claus prior to his Christmas Eve trip using a flying ice cream truck instead of his sleigh, you know you’re in trouble. A Freezerburnt Christmas is easily the worst Christmas movie I have ever seen and would challenge any reader to find a worse holiday film. Even though it is only 22 minutes long, I was frustrated by the fact that I’m never going to get those 22 minutes back. This was a stop-motion cartoon but let’s face it – the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2003
Synopsis
Henry Fonda and Henry Morgan are two outsider cowhands who ride into town just as wordarrives that a popular ranchers has been killed. A posse, or, more accurately, a lynch mob, forms,and Fonda and Morgan go along. Three men (including Dana Andrews and Anthony Quinn) arefound and blamed for the crime. The mob decides to kill them, even though Fonda and a fewothers become convinced of their innocence. Though a bit heavy-handed at getting its messageacross, and resorting to u...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2003
Synopsis
Robbie Coltrane plays Fitz, a criminal psychologist as brilliant as he is hard to take: gambler,smoker, drinker, lousy husband and father, he’s no prize. But he is also very good at what hedoes. These three stories feature an amnesiac serial killer, a misfit couple of murderers, and mobviolence. Coltrane is superb in the lead, but is backed up by equally strong performances by thelikes of Christopher Eccleston. With luck, the other episodes will follow shortly. If they do, br...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 14th, 2003
Synopsis
Nine more SpongeBob episodes, including the double-length “Christmas Who?” Not all theepisodes are Christmas, or even winter, related. “Procrastination,” for instance, showsSpongeBob desperately trying to write an essay (amusing enough, but not a patch on RichardCondie’s animated short “Getting Started”). All in all good-humoured fun, though I keep beingreminded of Ren and Stimpy with the edge removed.
Audio
The sound is much the same as that on the...
