David Vaughn

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A Christmas Story—25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition A Christmas Story—25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition
David Vaughn  |  Oct 24, 2008  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/achristmasstory.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Taking place in Indiana in the 1940s, the story centers on Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) and his one wish for Christmas&#151;a genuine Red Ryder 200-Shot Carbine Action Air Rifle. Unfortunately, whenever he expresses this wish, he's greeted with, "You'll shoot your eye out!" Will Ralphie get his wish? If so, is his vision safe?

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Media Server ReviewsAudio Video News
A Marriage Made in Movie Heaven
David Vaughn  |  Oct 11, 2022  |  14 comments

Hands On with the Kaleidescape Strato C Movie Player and Terra 48TB Movie Server

Reviewing A/V products began as a hobby that led to some paid gigs starting 16 years ago. Years of reviewing fantastic equipment opened my eyes to two concepts: Better equipment does come with a cost, but there’s this thing called “The Law of Diminishing Returns.” For example, in the AVR world, a $1,000 receiver offers a lot more features and functions than a $300 one — more power, more HDMI inputs, more channels, more robust onboard EQ, etc. But what about a $3,000 model versus one that costs $1,000? Likely it will also offer more, but not necessarily three times the value.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A Mighty Heart (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 21, 2009  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/mighty.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on Marianne Pearl's account of the life and death of her journalist husband, Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman), <i>A Mighty Heart</i> provides an inside view of the chaotic weeks following Daniel's kidnapping and Marianne's search to find the truth. Marianne (Angelina Jolie) becomes intimately involved in the investigation, and her resiliency is put to the test during this trying time.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A Passage to India (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Apr 17, 2008  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/417passage.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Adela Quested (Judy Davis) travels from England to India under the supervision of Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft) to visit Moore's son Ronny (Nigel Havers) in the 1920s. Sequestered in the English enclaves, Moore and Quested want to see the "real" India. Opportunity presents itself when a local doctor, Aziz H. Ahmed (Victor Banerjee), offers to take the ladies on an excursion to the Marabar Caves. When Adela returns injured from the expedition, the relationship between the Indians and the Brits reaches a turning point.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A Scanner Darkly (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Sep 11, 2010  |  0 comments
Based on the novel by Phillip K. Dick, A Scanner Darkly is set seven years in the future when much of society is hooked on the drug Substance D. Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is an undercover narcotics agent leading a double life as both an enforcer and breaker of the law. In his private time he associates with a group of junkies who have no idea that he's a narc.

While I love the style of animation and story, most of the voice acting is atrocious. Both Reeves and Winona Ryder are flat and wooden, but Robert Downy Jr. steals every scene with his superior acting talent. The film features prolific drug use, so if you're turned off by this sort of thing, don't tune in.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A Serious Man
David Vaughn  |  Feb 26, 2010  |  0 comments
It's 1967, and poor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) isn't having a good year. His wife is leaving him, his unemployed brother (Richard Kind) is sleeping on his couch, his kids are deviants, and he's being blackmailed by a student at the Midwestern university where he serves as a physics professor. Diving into his faith, Larry seeks the advice of three rabbis. But do they have the answers he seeks?

I'm generally a fan of the Coen brothers' films, but this bizarre tale confused the hell out of me with all the Jewish references. Despite my bewilderment, I couldn't stop thinking about the plot for days afterward, and when revisiting some scenes for this Ultimate Demo, I found myself laughing out loud, and I will certainly revisit it in the future to not only laugh but to enjoy the demo-worthy video presentation.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A Star is Born (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 29, 2010  |  0 comments
An alcoholic movie star (James Mason) stumbles on stage when a young singer (Judy Garland) is performing. The kindness she shows him after the incident makes an impression on him and he convinces her to leave her band and take a shot to be a movie star. The two eventually marry and when her star shines brighter than his there's bound to be problems.

For the record, I generally like musicals but for some reason I couldn't get into this film. The dramatic elements are great, but just when things start to get interesting Garland will burst into an overlong and unmemorable song. At nearly three hours, the films pacing is severely challenged and I can see why Warner shortened it over 30 minutes for its theatrical run in 1954. The restored cut includes some still shots since the original footage was destroyed, but the studio found the original full-length audio tracks to make thing coherent.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
David Vaughn  |  Apr 08, 2011  |  1 comments
In the future, the polar ice caps have melted, the sea waters have flooded coastal cities, and you must obtain a license to have a child. Science has evolved to the point of creating artificial beings, called mechas, to serve humans and preserve precious natural resources. One such mecha, David (Haley Joel Osment), is the first of its kind; an artificial kid that can give and receive unconditional love to his adoptive parents.

Of all of Spielberg's films, this is probably my least favorite. Its pacing is horrendous, it runs much too long at 145 minutes, and its last 40 minutes are a bizarre waste of time. While the acting and special effects are very good they can't overcome the boring second act and the horrendous ending(s).

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Adore
David Vaughn  |  Mar 25, 2014  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
Lil (Naomi Watts) and Roz (Robin Wright) have been inseparable from a young age, growing up in a quaint coastal Australian community. When Lil’s husband passes away, the two grow even closer, and their two young boys, Ian and Tom, develop a similar close relationship. Roz’s husband takes a job in Sydney, and with him away, the quartet starts to spend even more time together going to the beach, eating dinner, and drinking heavily with each other. After a night of partying, Ian (Lil’s son) professes his secret love for Roz, she succumbs to his advances, and they wind up sleeping together. Unbeknownst to either of them, Tom spies his mom leaving Ian’s room and decides two can play that game and makes a move on Lil. This opens up Pandora’s box, and the lines between family, friendship, and morality all become blurred.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Adventureland (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Aug 25, 2009  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/adventureland.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Recent college graduate James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has his European summer vacation canceled when his parents tell him they can't afford to help him with grad school. Instead, he's forced take a job at Adventureland, a local Pennsylvania amusement park. His co-workers are an eclectic bunch and include Em (Kristen Stewart), a beautiful yet reclusive co-ed who catches his eye. And despite the "help" of the park handyman (Ryan Reynolds), James may yet get the girl.

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