<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/spaceballs.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>When the evil Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) attempts to steal all the air from planet Druidia, a determined Druish Princess (Daphne Zuniga), a clueless rogue (Bill Pullman) and a half-man/half-dog creature (John Candy) who's his own best friend set out to stop him! But with the forces of darkness closing in on them at ludicrous speed, they'll need the help of a wise imp named Yogurt (Mel Brooks) and the mystical power of "The Schwartz" to bring peace and merchandising rights to the entire galaxy.</i>
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/grumpy.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>Two elderly, eccentric, next-door neighbors sustain a rancorous relationship that only a wise observer could recognize as a very special friendship. When a lonely, flamboyant, middle-aged widow moves in across the street from them, the male rivalry begins. One of the great screen duos of all time - Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau - reunite in this romantic comedy that examines the decades-old love-hate relationship between two neighbors and the way their lives are thrown into total upheaval when a lovely, free-spirited widow moves in across the street. </I>
The list of devices ready to bring Netflix's decidedly awesome online streaming service into your home theater is getting longer all the time. The latest addition is Sony's Internet-connected Bravia HDTVs. Whether you have a newer set with...
The war among copyright holders, consumers, and other parties continues on so many fronts that it's hard for us to cover them all. Here's a smattering from the last month or so.
Price: $499 At A Glance: Reference-quality Blu-ray performance and video processing • Full interactivity and audio decoding • Fast operation and load times • SACD and DVD-Audio
Dawn of a Blu Universe
Oppo Digital may not be the most recognized name on the block, but if you’ve used its products in the past, you’ll certainly remember it. Oppo has been in the DVD player market for a few years now and does all of its business online. You won’t find its products stocked in your local Best Buy or specialty retailer, so the brand doesn’t have the broad market awareness of other Blu-ray player manufacturers. But Oppo’s DVD players have a loyal following and offer incredible performance for the dollar. Oppo’s reputation for excellent performance at a lower price point and its outstanding customer support quickly gained a big following. So it’s been with bated breath that many of us have waited for Oppo to enter the Blu-ray market.
A friend of mine is a correspondent for KCET, the Los Angeles PBS station. A few days ago, he told me that he had been assigned to cover the Michael Jackson memorial held yesterday at Staples Center and that he was not looking forward to it at all. Aside from the logistical nightmare of getting through the traffic jams and police barricades, he didn't get what all the fuss is about. "Sure, Jackson was a good entertainer," he said, "but was he really important enough for all this?" He also wondered why so many people can become so active over Jackson's death—showing up at the gates of Neverland Ranch and the Jackson family home, signing up for tickets to the memorial—but not over much more important issues such as health care.
Let's say you've just paid $7.7 million to purchase Pirate Bay, a Swedish site popular with copyright-oblivious torrenters all over the world. What new business model would you devise to make it a legit business? How about paying people to engage in file sharing?
Yesterday, Sharp announced its newest HDTV line, the Aquos LED series. As its name implies, the Aquos LED HDTVs use LED backlighting instead of conventional CCFL. Because LEDs lack the toxic chemicals of CCFL backlights, use far less energy, and...