LATEST ADDITIONS

Audio Video News
Crazy Ants Attack Electronics in Texas
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 27, 2008
A newly recognized species of ant is shorting out computers and other electronic gear in Texas. No, seriously. This is really happening.
Continue Reading »
The Big Picture
1080i vs. 1080p
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 26, 2008

In the comments following my blog last week, Neil Richards asked a follow-up question that is the cause of much confusion. I wrote a bit about it in the comments attached to that blog, but I thought it deserved a more thorough treatment this week.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Bee Movie—Dreamworks Animation (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  May 26, 2008
Video: 4.75/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Dreamworks brings their first animated film to Blu-ray with Bee Movie. Honestly, this is one of the weaker Dreamworks animated films and aside from the colorful animation I didn't think there was a lot for kids here. The film takes on an environmental approach in some ways and the themes of the film don't seem to take the entertainment of kids in stride. Jerry Seinfeld plays Barry, a young worker bee not content to spend the rest of his life working in the hive. When he journeys out into the real world he befriends a florist and finds out that people have been selling honey. The film then focuses on the slavery of bees and then the catastrophic events that could unfold if bees stopped pollinating. While the film does have a few fun moments, it didn't really appeal to me as a story. The animation is jaw dropping at times with some very cool three dimensional moments, but it couldn't make up for the slow script and dull comedy.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Rambo—Lionsgate (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  May 26, 2008
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4.75/5
Extras: 4.25/5
Stallone is definitely doing his best to defy the odds. I never thought that Rocky Balboa would be a good film but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought he may be pushing his luck with Rambo but instead he delivered what I feel to be the best installment in the series since the first film. This is a no hold bar action film that not only turns up the body count and gore, but delivers the best production design and tone of the sequels. Rambo has turned hard in his later years and when a group of activists that he delivered into war torn Burma turn up missing, he joins a group of mercenaries to get them out. The story is simplistic in nature and doesn't try to get too political, but it does shed light on the unfortunate events of that volatile region. Stallone proves that he is still every bit of the action star he used to be and rumor has it another Rambo film is in the works.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Rambo Trilogy—Lionsgate (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  May 26, 2008
Video: 3/5
Audio: 2.75/5
Extras: 2.5/5
I grew up with this trilogy and looking back I am almost surprised that my parents let me watch these films at such a young age. These films cemented Stallone's status as an action icon and "Rambo" is a name everyone knows. Just in time for the release of the new (and quite entertaining) fourth installment is the original trilogy on Blu-ray. I still consider the first film to be the strongest of the series and I love the message it sends on the treatment of Vietnam Vets after their return home. It is always disturbing to see how those troops were treated. The second and third film suited the Reagan years perfectly and continued to fuel our fear of the Russians during the Cold War. I like the second film a lot more than the third, but even the weakest one is good popcorn fun.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Other Boleyn Girl—Columbia Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  May 26, 2008
Video: 4.75/5
Audio: 4.25/5
Extras: 3/5
I'm always a fan of period drama and despite the rather lackluster reviews, The Other Boleyn Girl was quite entertaining. The film is based on the true story of two sisters who started quite the scandal with King Henry VIII after his queen fails to give him a male heir. Anne Boleyn is propositioned as a mistress for the King to give him an heir but he becomes captivated with her married sister, Mary. From there a downward spiral commences as the King is pulled from one to the other which eventually tears the kingdom apart resulting in the annulment of his marriage with the queen, a separation from the Catholic Church and a string of failed marriages. It was these events that set things in motion for Queen Elizabeth and the feud between the Protestant Queen and the Catholics. If I had to complain I would say the PG-13 rating seemed to tone down the film a bit more than it needed to be. This film focuses on very adult themes that would have been better served with an adult rating in my opinion.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
David Vaughn  |  May 23, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/052308nt2.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>With his great grandfather implicated in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) enlists the help of his acrimoniously divorced parents (Jon Voight and Helen Mirren) to search out clues to clear the family name. From Buckingham Palace to Mount Rushmore, Gates pursues the <I>Book of Secrets</I>, but he must find a way to speak to the one man who has access to it, the President of the United States.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
David Vaughn  |  May 23, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/052308narnia.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>In World War II-ravaged England, four siblings discover a magical wardrobe cabinet while playing hide-and-seek in the rural country home of an elderly professor. The wardrobe is a passageway to the world of Narnia, a charming land inhabited by talking animals, dwarfs, centaurs, and giants. But the evil White Witch, Jadis (Tilda Swinton), has cursed the world into a perpetual winter. Aided by the lion Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), the children battle to overcome the evil White Witch's powerful hold over Narnia.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Golden Compass
David Vaughn  |  May 23, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/052308compass.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Imagine a parallel universe that is familiar yet strange, where human souls reside not in the body, but in accompanying animal spirits called daemons. A young girl, Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards), gains possession of the coveted Golden Compass&mdash;the last example of a mystical, powerful device also known as an alethiometer that can unveil the truth, reveal what others wish to hide, and even see into the future. In order to save her best friend after he is abducted by the Gobblers, a sinister group secretly headed by Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman), she must travel to the frozen tundra of the North with help from the clans, Gyptians, and an armored bear.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
P.S. I Love You
David Vaughn  |  May 23, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/052308ps.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>As Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) celebrates her 30th birthday, she receives a most unusual gift from her husband, Gerry (Gerard Butler). It's a cake and a recorded message preparing her for the letters she will be receiving over the next few months from him. The kicker is that Gerry recently died from an illness at the tender age of 35, and his passing has ripped Holly's heart apart. With the help of her mother (Kathy Bates) and her two best friends (Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gerson), Holly learns to live without her soul mate.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X