Highly Defined

P>The first full week of being format neutral, and all appears to be well.

Well, that pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it? I picked up Casino Royale, Layer Cake and Black Hawk Down, and all seems to be pretty good. All of them having PCM soundtracks doesn’t hurt either. I’ve also grabbed Motorstorm and Resistance Fall of Man recently, so the gaming and movie split is about 50-50 right now, on top of everything else I’ve been doing. The reasoning for those three titles, aside f...om exclusivity, is their extras are mostly port overs from the SD versions, so it gives me another reason to cast aside the SD versions of the above titles that I’ve already got.

Happy March 13th (and a very special one at that)!

Well, your humble reviewer has gone through quiet a bit in the last several days. I’ll try to make it as brief as possible; work sucks ass. Let me count the ways; I came in at 1:30 in the morning once on a day I wasn’t working, I helped my boss repel some REALLY explicit propositions by one of his employees when we were in New York City on business, I get some medical attention to him when he has a stroke on ANOTHER trip to New York, and what do I get as re...urn for all these favors? I get assigned to something I don’t want to do, doing work that will get outsourced in a year, with management power I don’t have. So yeah, work sucks.

When last I left you, the viewer, I was in the midst of frantically typing “Yo” so that I could be a participant of the chat with Warner Brothers Home Video, to ask about any coming next-gen titles from the studio. What we found out was fairly illuminating. The Warner hits L.A. Confidential, Poltergeist, Deliverance and the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet will all appear on HD-DVD and Blu-ray this year, with Heat and The Music Man to come out in 2008. They also reconfirmed ...hat other Stanley Kubrick films, along with Blade Runner, should be on their way out as well.

In other, perhaps tastier Blu-Ray news, Bill Hunt managed to get a quick look at a large though not complete look at the Universal titles on HD-DVD for most of the coming year. Titles include Midnight Run, The Big Lebowski, Lost in Translation, Mallrats, Being John Malkovich, Born on the Fourth of July and The Bourne Identity. How much of a dent Universal makes remains to be seen, but at least they finally may have some activity worth talking about.

Well, the news late today about Sony deciding to come into the affordably priced standalone market by introducing a Blu-Ray player of their own that will come out in the spring/early summer. The BDP-S300 will retail for $600 and unlike the first gen that’s $300 more, will actually include CD playback. So now that they’re making their strides towards affordable hardware (stop with the PS3 argument) with more price drops to come, it’ll be interesting to see when, how much and how often the cheaper HD-DVD equipment does...

In terms of disc releases this week, both camps share the Steve McQueen films Bullitt and The Getaway, and the Nine Inch Nails film Beside You in Time, while the Blu-Ray gang gets Stranger Than Fiction as an exclusive.

Welcome one and all to the circus that is the format war. Well, let’s skip past the part where Sony will be putting copies of Casino Royale into their PS3s for the European launch, along with Fox’s announcement of Eragon on Blu-Ray for 3/20, along with rumors of Jaws on HD-DVD not dying anytime soon and Disney’s rumored releases of the two Pirates of the Caribbean and Sin City movies, and tackle a shot fired across the bow in the online community.

I like Bill Hunt and read...his work at The Digital bits from time to time. And I’m sure the guy knows what he’s talking about. He’s got studio ties (which I don), and he’s put out a book (which I haven’t), so bully to him for it. But, from the perspective of someone who a) doesn’t post in AVS Forums and b) is an enthusiast without being an extremist about DVD, home theater and film, allow me to throw whatever cred I’ve got into this discussion, without too much perspective or insight.

First off, thanks and much love to those who filled in while I was gone. And wow, while I was gone, apparently HD-DVD did the same. After a lackluster CES, the only other thing they could do was announce that Spielberg films like E.T. would be “coming soon” to the format. However, Senor Spielburgo put the kaibash on that pretty quick, and those responsible for the gaffe (namely the HD-DVD Promotions Group) issued a quick apology. For what it’s worth, now that Blu-Ray has caught up and passed HD-DVD in the numb...r of titles out there, one would hope that from a complete package standpoint, they decide to include every bit of supplemental material on the discs that their SD counterparts have incorporated, otherwise in 2 years (assuming the Blus have won the war and that hardware is affordable), people will be bitching up and down about double dips on just about everything. Just something to ponder.

Anyway, in more saner news for the week past, The Pursuit of Happyness gets a day and date release from Fox (on 3/27) and yes, the extras are the same as on the SD version, ironically enough (kinda makes that last rant a little bit discounted). Disney has included Chicken Little and Finding Neverland on their calendars for 3/20, while G.I. Jane and the extended cut of King Arthur hit on 4/3, and Fox brings Turistas. to the next-gen format on 4/17. HD-DVD brings the excellent Children of Men to HD-DVD on 3/27 and the longish and kind of bland 40 Year Old Virgin to HD on 5/22.

In a week filled with minimal news, there was one major announcement that is sure to make HD DVD fans happy. Yes, Universal has finally announced some of their exclusive HD DVD title line-up. Although none of the big blockbuster titles we know Universal has sitting around on a shelf were announced, more than a few big name titles were announced that will be sure to put a smile on your face. With upwards of 100 titles to be released throughout 2007 we can expect great things from Universal this year.

...he Guy Richie classic Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels is going to be making its way to HD along with other great action flicks like The Bourne Identity, Inside Man and Dawn of the Dead. Perhaps the most notable exclusive is that ever popular gem from 1983, Scarface that is sure to please fans. Not only can we anticipate some great action films, there is a whole load of big name comedies: The 40 Year Old Virgin, Bruce Almighty, Meet the Fockers, American Pie, Liar Liar, Shaun of the Dead, The Jerk and the always classic Slap Shot. The Micheal Douglas suspenseful thriller The Game will be making its way to the shelves as well.

This may take a little while.

So did we enjoy our thoughts and impressions of what CES 2007 held and brought? Well, let’s take a look at things that didn’t relate to Apple, shall we? First off, it appears the new color to speak of is purple. You’ve got word of the Warner Total Hi-Def disc, which is a dual format disc. The packaging is even a compromise too, with the HD DVD red on one side, and the Blu-ray blue on the other. It costs slightly more than a HD/SD combo, but does certainly provide for some inter...sting screenshot comparisons, and a lot of laborious moving from one player to another. At least with that announcement

What kind of oil is used on stripper poles again?

OK, this round of activity should be pretty bland, as all the rage and anticipation is saved for the coming days, as CES has just started (or about to start) as you’re reading this. Lots of announcements are forthcoming, with the speculation apparently that Blu-Ray will be the king of new news, with many new releases and perhaps the revelation of a second-generation Samsung player. The HD-DVD camp is a mystery at this point, but we’ll have a roundup and spec...lative analysis once things have completed. With newer Sony titles, you can currently see some previews of upcoming titles, including Lawrence of Arabia, Spider Man, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Bad Boys II, to name a few.

Give a brutha some slack, OK?

So in between a busy daytime job that included being in the office for 19 hours of a 24 hour day and the holiday week, things have been a little busy at the casa de Keefer. Besides, everyone’s bracing themselves for the CES show next week and the fun stuff to come from it, right? So let’s take a look at those next-gen discs that have made this particular reviewer stand up and smile. Oh, and as far as the lack of Blu love here, if someone wants to spring for a player for me, fee... free to do so.