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3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gnomeo & Juliet 3D (Blu-ray 3D)
David Vaughn  |  May 16, 2011
Caught up in a feud between neighbors, Gnomeo (Mame McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) must overcome many obstacles to be together. But can this young couple find lasting happiness with their two families hell-bent on destroying each other?

This is a classic example of false advertising. While the trailers made this film look funny and fresh, it's anything but that. The screenplay is pathetically weak, the characters exhibit zero personality, and even the great music from Elton John can't make this anything more than a colossal waste of 84 minutes.

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Through the Diaphonic Lens
Michael Berk  |  May 16, 2011

Stephen Ambrose's music teacher father once posed a difficult question to his son: "What instrument don't they make anymore?" The younger Ambrose was stumped. "The chamber," his father responded. Ambrose filed the exchange away, not quite sure what to make of it, and went on to a career as a musician and sound engineer.

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Audio Video News
Will iPad 3 Go 3D?
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 16, 2011
Unnamed sources cited by a little-known publication assert that Apple's iPad 3 will be 3D capable. It would be totally irresponsible to pass on this kind of unsubstantiated rumor.

Mea culpa.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Human Planet—BBC/Warner Bros.
Kris Deering  |  May 14, 2011
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras:2/5
Following in the footsteps of "Planet Earth" and "Life", this epic eight-part blockbuster is a breathtaking celebration of the amazing, complex, profound and sometimes challenging relationship between humankind and nature. Humans are the ultimate animals - the most successful species on the planet. From the frozen Arctic to steamy rainforests, from tiny islands in vast oceans to parched deserts, people have found remarkable ways to adapt and survive. We've done this by harnessing our immense courage and ingenuity; learning to live with and utilize the other creatures with which we share these wild places. "Human Planet" weaves together eighty inspiring stories, many never told before, set to a globally-influenced soundtrack by award-winning composer Nitin Sawhney. Each episode focuses on a particular habitat and reveals how its people have created astonishing solutions in the face of extreme adversity. Finally we visit the urban jungle, where most of us now live, and discover why the connection between humanity and nature here is the most vital of all.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Rite—Warner Bros.
Kris Deering  |  May 14, 2011
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras:3.5/5
Inspired by true events, this supernatural thriller follows a seminary student sent to study exorcism at the Vatican in spite of his own doubts about the controversial practice and even his own faith. Only when sent to apprentice with legendary Father Lucas, who has performed thousand of exorcisms, does his armor of skepticism begin to fall. Drawn into a troubling case that transcends even Father Lucas's skill, the young seminarian glimpses a phenomenon science can't explain or control - and an evil so violent and terrifying that it forces him to question everything he believes.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Review: Blue Valentine
Josef Krebs  |  May 13, 2011

“How do you trust your feelings when they can just disappear like that?” This piece of dialogue sums up the main theme of Blue Valentine, a film that, trying to work out where love goes, looks back to where it came from in the first place.

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Vote
Do You Use a Music Server for Most Listening?
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 13, 2011
I've been talking a lot about music servers lately. It's the subject of this week's Home Theater Geeks podcast with Jon Iverson as well as today's Ask Scott blog. This leads me to wonder how many of our readers use music servers rather than physical-disc players for most of their music listening.

As always, I really hope you leave a comment about your choice. If you use a server, which one? Why do you like using a server over a disc player? If you don't use a server, why not?

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

Do You Use a Music Server for Most Listening?
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Review: The Illusionist
Josef Krebs  |  May 13, 2011

There’s a particularly wonderful scene in The Illusionist, the animated movie adapted and directed by Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville) from a previously unfilmed script by Jacques Tati. When the Monsieur Hulot-like character familiar to fans of Tati goes into a movie theater, there’s Tati’s Mon Oncle up on the screen in live action.

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Ask S&V
High-Rez Music Server
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 13, 2011
I'm interested in building a music server for high-rez audio files. I'd like something such as a Mac Mini but with more drive space and lower cost. Dell Zino perhaps? Most importantly, I need a player that will handle all music file formats, including lossless. Also, I need a DAC for under $1000. Any suggestions on how best to pull this off?

Scott Kaplan

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Papillon (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  May 13, 2011
Based on the true story about French ex-convict Henri Charriére (Steve McQueen), a petty criminal who is unjustly convicted of murder, and his constant struggle to escape to freedom from the brutal French penal system at Guiana's infamous Devil's Island. On the way to the hellhole, he meets Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a convicted counterfeiter who relies on Henri for protection. The two men end up becoming good friends and they rely on each other for their survival.

While the performances are marvelous from both McQueen and Hoffman, the pacing of this movie is horrendously slow. I understand that director Franklin J. Shaffner is trying to show the struggle that Charriére endured to secure his freedom, but a good 45 minutes could have been left on the cutting room floor improving the overall enjoyment of the film.

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