Kris Deering

Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 3.5/5
I completely avoided this one during its theatrical run due to the bad taste left in my mouth from the first AVP. The first film had a reasonably good premise, but I didn’t care for the execution. Surprisingly this follow up was far more satisfying, though still short of the original Alien and Predator franchises. The film picks up right where the last one left off with the predator/alien half-breed. The ship gets taken over by the new breed and crashes in the woods in Colorado. From there a small town is essentially taken over by the alien. Back on the Predator home world a warrior is sent out to deal with the issue and essentially becomes the primary source of hope for the small town. There are definitely points in this film where the cheese gets a bit much, but I thought the execution was a bit better this time around and fans of the franchise will probably find this a more satisfying addition.

Video: 5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: N/A
Last year video guru Joe Kane released the first High Definition test disc to the market with Digital Video Essentials. We'd seen this release before on the short lived D-Theater format but this time around the disc offered a more intuitive menu structure and offered two resolutions for test material. Problem was; it was limited to HD DVD only. This new version is available in both HD DVD and Blu-ray and is slightly scaled down. Some of the more advanced test patterns that are good for display evaluation are missing but most of the patterns for display setup are all there. The disc has both 1080p and 720p content making it very adaptable for the two most popular screen resolutions on the market today. This new disc also features more in-depth instructions on the materials and their benefit on display playback. The menu is still a bit cumbersome at times and I wish they would have allowed for storage of some favorites similar to what we see with some HD DVD and Blu-ray releases that have a bookmark function. All of the familiar demonstration material is here from the previous editions as well.

Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2.5/5
Hidalgo is one of those human stories that really grabbed me. The true tale of an American cowboy haunted by his past who finds himself across the world in a race only the most insane would attempt. But the story does not end there. Along the way the greedy attempt to eliminate potential winners and small battles wager. Mortensen does a great job as Frank Hopkins, and this is a huge departure from his now epic portrayal of Aragon in The Lord of the Rings films. While he still has the courage and honor of Aragon, this is a more down to Earth role. The production and cinematography of this film are also outstanding making this a film with few faults.

Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2/5
I don't remember even seeing this one in theaters but like so many other films that deal with the current war in Iraq, it seemed to fade into obscurity. Tommy Lee Jones got an Oscar nod for this one and he does do a great job portraying a father on the hunt for his son who went AWOL after returning from the war. When they find his boy brutally murdered in a field he tries desperately to find out what happened. With the help of a local detective he finds more than he bargained for. The film draws some serious questions about how war affects the soldiers returning home and how the average public could probably never comprehend what our soldiers are being asked to do daily. I really enjoyed the film despite the darker tones and sad story, but I can see some people being turned off to something that hits this close to home.