Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 11th, 2006
A CNet article from Austrailia explains that PC Blu-Ray drives aren't able to play Blu-Ray movies released by studios as there aren't PC video cards or chipsets capable of handling HDCP.
Not good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 11th, 2006
I think the fact that Invasion only ran for one season is more of a result of circumstance than anything else. The series starts with a very large hurricane hitting Florida, and the rest of the season dramatizes the aftermath of such a tragic event. Unfortunately, the series made its debut right after the real life hurricane Katrina wiped out much of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. With the 24-hour coverage of the real-life disaster plastered all over the airwaves, audiences just didn't feel much like unwinding with a dramatization of the very same experience.
It's a shame, too, because the hurricane aspect of the story was really just a catalyst to bring on the true story of the series. This was not a show about hurricanes, this was a show about extra-terrestrials. I am always a fan of sci-fi shows that masquerade as traditional dramas, and this one really pulls it off. One of the best things about shows like Alias and Lost is that they spawned other well thought out shows such as this one. It was not long ago that a show would start with a basic idea of characters and place, and the series would evolve over time. Now we are starting to see shows that have an entire couple of seasons planned out before the first episode is even shot (such as 24 and HBO's fantastic Carnivale). The result is a television program that plays more like a detailed mini-series. This is a winning proposition for both networks and fans, as the story builds slowly over time, a personal investment is made in the program.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 10th, 2006
Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.
The submarine film is tough to improve upon. With classics such as Das Boot, The Hunt for Red October, and even Crimson Tide, the submarine film genre is chock-full of movies with intense drama and claustrophobic action.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 10th, 2006
Tell me if you've heard this one before... a high school girl is not allowed to join a certain club because it is boys only, so she dresses up like a (transvestite) boy to sneak into the club and prove that she has girl power!
Seriously, how many times can Hollywood make the exact same movie, before somebody sues somebody for copyright infringement? I understand the argument that each new generation of teens will pay big bucks to see the same crappy movie that has been made every couple of years for generations, but come on. Does nobody have any artistic integrity left?
Posted in: 1.85:1 Widescreen, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital Mono (English), DVD, Mature, Severin Films by David Annandale on August 10th, 2006
Felicity (Glory Annen) is reaching sexual maturity, but the outlets for her desires at her convent school are limited and not entirely satisfying. She leaves the school for the big bad world, and winds up travelling to Hong Kong where she has one adventure after another.If the concept of an Asian-set sexual coming-of-age sounds familiar, it should, and the movie is honest enough to wear its influences on its sleeve (Felicity is seen reading Emmanuelle and The Story of O). It is what it is. It may not be exactly an unearthed classic, but it is a solidly crafted bit of erotica, very much of its period (1979), and rather interesting precisely for that reason.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 10th, 2006
Ren and Stimpy was a wonderful throwback to the golden days at Warner. Embracing the charm and animation style of the early Warner greats John K (Kricfalusi) managed to work in his own rather twisted humor and create an endearing cartoon. For those of you who wish to remember Ren and Stimpy this way, I warn you, DO NOT buy this collection. In case you don’t know the story: John K left his creation after about a year and a half at the Nickelodeon Network. It seems his more adult themed ideas were not so in tune wi...h the network’s kiddie tradition.The cartoon continued without him. The creative side of the series spiraled downward, and the show was mercifully cancelled. In 2003 the newly formed Spike TV contracted John K to return to his Ren and Stimpy creation, promising little to no censorship. After all, they told him, this is a “MAN’s” network and the audience can take it. John K. began to produce far more risqué versions of our beloved characters. All was going well, or so it seemed. Along comes Janet Jackson, no longer Good Times’ lovable Penny, and her much publicized “wardrobe malfunction”. Everything changed. The FCC began dishing out record fines for obscenity, and even The Man’s Network ran for cover. The new and hotly debated Ren and Stimpy was gone faster than its original incarnation. Not to be thwarted, the pair now return via DVD with these unaired episodes. The packaging comes with plenty of warning, but I fear many will consider these warnings a joke in the sarcastic humor the show was so famous for. Trust me. These warnings are for real. This stuff makes South Park look like Peanuts, not so much for the language, but for the graphic depictions of nudity and sexual innuendo.
With the warnings taken care of, let’s talk a little about this version of Ren and Stimpy. The old fart jokes and sardonic wit have returned pretty much the way you’ll remember it. What has been added, however, removes any of that endearing charm the original show had going for it. Too many of these episodes push the limits so far that it appears to be graphic simply for graphic’s sake. The plots are thin, even though a couple of these episodes run about double the original show’s running times. It’s obvious that John K. is more interested in thumbing his nose at an establishment he feels cut him off at the knees than in any real serious effort at art here. I’m afraid I will no longer be able to return to those innocent years with Ren and Stimpy with quite the same abandonment. Save yourself. Stay away unless this is what you always wanted from Ren and Stimpy after all.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 9th, 2006
Keep on Rolling, A Jelly Bean is a terrible thing to waste, and WII Release Info? Welcome to the uncle you never want your kids to visit unattended known as Dare to Play the Game.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 9th, 2006
Well, there’s nothing quite like your first, and when producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman decided to bring about a barely 30 year old Scotsman named Sean Connery, whose most recent work was as a British soldier in The Longest Day, into the film version of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, who had any idea that Dr. No would become a culture landmark, let alone a movie franchise?
Now, one of the first things that comes to mind when you watch Dr. No, if you haven’t watched it in aw...ile (or at all) is that Michael Myers seems to liberally steal from this film when it comes to the Austin Powers trilogy. Connery (as Bond) goes to Jamaica to discover the reasons behind a disappearance of a colleague. There he meets his American CIA contact Felix Leiter (holy crap, that’s Jack Lord from Hawaii Five-O!) and with the help of some of the locals, they meet a mad scientist named Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman, Viva Zapata!), and he captures Bond and a female companion named Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress, Clash of the Titans), feeds them a lavish dinner while telling them about a plan to destroy the world for money, and James and Honey get out of the trap to eliminate them while James saves the world while telling Michael York about it (wait, stumbled into the wrong film there).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 9th, 2006
It goes without saying that the James Bond franchise is the crown jewel of the MGM and Sony vault. And in preparation for Daniel Craig’s turn as the man who likes his martinis shaken and not stirred in Casino Royale, it was decided to let them run with some things in order to double-dip Joe Q. DVD Buyer. And in the UK, where Bond reigns supreme, these new “Ultimate Editions” of all the James Bond movies have just been released (don’t worry US fans, these are on their way in November).
The UK version ...f this collector’s set is somewhat snazzy, as there’s a locking metal attaché case that houses all of the films (20 in total), and each film gets a 2 disc edition to boot. So the bottom line is that if you’re a fan of Connery, Moore, Brosnan, Dalton and Lazenby, get that fridge by the TV installed and get a case of diapers ready, because you’re getting married to that furniture for the short and intermediate term with 40 discs of James Bond cinematic joy. I did some skimming of the titles, and decided to get this party started by watching Octopussy. I think the reason I might have gone with this is that I think this may have been the first Bond film I saw in the theater, and I remember it being a really cool thing to see as a tyke growing up as the son of a British mother.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 8th, 2006
Synopsis
Here we go again. Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) is pretty comfortably ensconced in the home of Henry Warnimont (George Gaynes) now. The season follows Punky through the usual round of problems at school, with friends, with boys, and so on. Will she do her homework and get to a rock concert? We await the answer on the edge of our seats. Frye is a few years older now, and so is moving from precocious youngster to tiresome tween. Lessons are learned in the most painfully didactic and mundan... fashion. The laugh track kicks in mechanically everytime Punky moves. This is sitcomus moronicus at its most depressing.
On The Web
Sponsors
