LATEST ADDITIONS

Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Halloween (2007)—Dimension (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Oct 17, 2008
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 4/5
Rob Zombie reinvents the ultimate slasher classic, unleashing Michael Myers for a bloody rollercoaster of a rampage like fans have never seen. Including a retelling of the original story that unfolds at a breakneck pace, as well as a chilling new introduction that finally reveals the secrets behind Myers' disturbing childhood, "Halloween" breathes new life into one of film history's most terrifying tales.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Romancing The Stone—20th Century Fox (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Oct 17, 2008
Video: 4.25/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 2.5/5
When her sister is kidnapped by thugs searching for a priceless jewel in the Colombian jungle, a romance novelist soon finds her own life filled with cliffhangers and danger. All alone, she sets out to rescue her sister and meets up with a handsome fortune seeker who convinces her to beat the bandits to the treasure.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
War, Inc.—First Look (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Oct 17, 2008
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 1/5
"War, Inc." is a political satire set in Turaqistan, a country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former US Vice-President. In an effort to monopolize the opportunities the war-torn nation offers, the corporation's CEO hires a troubled hit man to kill a Middle East oil minister. Now, struggling with his own growing demons, the assassin must pose as the corporation's Trade Show Producer in order to pull off this latest hit, while maintaining his cover by organizing the high-profile wedding of Yonica Babyyeah, an outrageous Middle Eastern pop star, and keeping a sexy left wing reporter in check.
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Power Amplifier Reviews
Parasound 5250 5-Channel Power Amplifier
uavGary Altunian  |  Oct 17, 2008
I love big, beefy power amplifiers for the same reason I enjoy high-performance automobiles. An economy car will get me to my destination, but it's just not as much fun.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Ultimate Matrix Collection
David Vaughn  |  Oct 17, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/thematrixcollection.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>"Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?"</i>

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Sleeping Beauty
David Vaughn  |  Oct 17, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/sleepingbeauty.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Straight from the Disney vault comes <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>, a spectacular 50th Anniversary edition of the beloved classic story about Princess Aurora, whose birth is celebrated by the entire kingdom. She falls under the curse of the evil Maleficent, which can only be broken by true love's first kiss.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Eastern Promises
David Vaughn  |  Oct 17, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/easternpromises.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Known as "The Undertaker," expatriate Russian Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) performs dirty tasks for a local mobster, Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Anna (Naomi Watts) and Nikolai cross paths when she obtains a diary with a card for Semyon's restaurant. Unfortunately for Anna, her inquisitive visit to Semyon throws her into a world in which she has no business.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Knocked Up
David Vaughn  |  Oct 17, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/knockedup.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Ben (Seth Rogan) and Alison (Katherine Heigl) have nothing in common. He is a stoner meandering his way through life without a job or any long-term goals. She is an up-and-coming career-minded girl recently promoted to host a show on E!. To celebrate, she and her married sister (Leslie Mann) venture out for some drinks when they meet Ben in a bar. Although Alison isn't physically attracted to Ben, he makes her laugh. They have quite a few drinks together, ending the night drunk and in bed. When the condom doesn't work due to operator error, both are in for the surprise of their lives when the pregnancy test is positive eight weeks later.

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Ears On
Dueling Loudness Corrections Explained
Mark Fleischmann  |  Oct 17, 2008
While reviewing the Onkyo TX-SR806 receiver ($1099) I did some to-ing and fro-ing with the THX and Audyssey people regarding THX Loudness Plus and Audyssey Dynamic EQ. These new loudness corrections operate in roughly the same territory--but in a different manner. Their common goal is to compensate for sonic losses that occur naturally at lower volume levels. As volume drops, the frequency response of human hearing changes. Loudness Plus and Dynamic EQ both tackle this problem by adjusting channel levels and frequency response. But beyond that, there are differences between them, and I asked the THX and Audyssey people to be specific about those differences. Here's what they said.
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Other Tech
Making Weight: The Ray-Dough Connection
 |  Oct 16, 2008

It sounded silly. Pursue the audiophile myth that more expensive gear will weigh more. It was well past time to put that audiophile myth to rest. After all: A heavy iPod is better than a lightweight one? A 5-pound cellphone?

Look, a BD player is just another computer running software. Building the player with an 8-pound chassis and charging more is bogus, right?

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