LATEST ADDITIONS

A "statement" component is usually a top of the line, no holds barred, expensive flagship. Onkyo has just unveiled a different kind of statement product. While it didn't surprise me at all that Onkyo would release an AVR equipped with HDMI 1.3 and onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, I am taken aback that the first AVR to boast these new features is the $599 TX-SR605. <I>That's</I> a statement!

Smaller iPod-compatible speaker systems like this one are usually described as "speakers" (as opposed to "systems"). The Altec Lansing inMotion gets points for not calling itself an i-something. What's seductive about it, though, is its shape-shifting ability.

Video: 5
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
Do you ever think about how implausible the plots of mystery books and movies are? So does Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Writer/director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) adapts, in part, Brett Halliday’s mystery novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them. Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey, Jr.) finds himself in the middle of a seemingly simple murder mystery within his first day out in Los Angeles. But Harry knows mysteries are never simple. He soon gets sucked in, along with Gay Perry (Val Kilmer) and Harmony (Michelle Monaghan), trying to find how multiple murders are linked before his is next. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a highly enjoyable dark comedy that turns murder mysteries on their head. The performances are engaging, especially Robert Downey, Jr.’s narration, and all the actors handle the quick banter superbly.

Video: 3
Audio: 2
Extras: 3
RV had good potential, but even Robin Williams’ presence fails to turn this retread into anything more than a forgettable evening’s rental. Everything about this story of a man dragging his family on a road trip in a rented recreational vehicle—from the overly enthusiastic but bumbling dad, to the resentful kids and the family bond forged on four wheels—was done better in National Lampoon’s Vacation. That doesn’t mean RV is devoid of laughs. There are enough chuckles to keep nondiscriminating viewers reasonably entertained, and the overly long waste-disposal sequence should evoke gales of laughter from the kids. But you’ll be left with a “been there, done that” feeling.