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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Face/Off—Paramount Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  May 22, 2008
Video: 2.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
John Woo had definitely done some great action work over the years. But I will be the first to admit that not all of his films grab me. While I found this one entertaining, it was never one of my favorites by him. Probably because I went through a basic hate relationship with Travolta films for awhile. After Pulp Fiction it seemed like every other movie out there had him in it, and he always acted exactly the same. Since I've had a bit of a break from all that now, I will say the film sat a bit better with me this time around, but I still think it is one of Woo's weaker titles.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World—20th Century Fox (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  May 22, 2008
Video: 3.75/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 3/5
I've been in the Navy for 13 years now and I've been to sea on several occasions during that time. Fortunately for me that time was spent under the water as I am a proud submariner. Peter Weir's Naval epic may not show the life of a modern submariner, but I think it is a testament to enduring life at sea and the comradely that blooms from it. The tale pits an English boat captain against a faster and more capable French ship, but the day to day struggle of the ship's crew is really the focus of this masterful film. The production values are stunning and I'm actually shocked we haven't seen more films like this since after seeing how well they executed it this time around. Here's hoping for more!
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Twister—Warner Bros. (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  May 22, 2008
Video: 3.25/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Twister is one of those big budget popcorn films that audiences just flock to during the summer movie season. I was just as excited as everyone else to see it, since the special effects looked amazing in the trailers. Years later the film is still a fun ride, but with technology and special effects where they are now, this film doesn't have the technical flair it used to. For those who haven't seen it (if there are any), the film follows a group of storm chasers who have developed a measuring device for tornadoes. The bad part is, they have to get right in the path of the twister to use it. ILM did some phenomenal work on the special effects for the time and this is still a pretty intense ride.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blades of Glory—Dreamworks Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  May 22, 2008
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
I had a strong feeling going into this film that I wouldn't be a fan. I am not big on Ferrell's brand of comedy (though I did love Stranger than Fiction) and Heder hasn't done anything particularly good since Napoleon Dynamite. The comedy is a bit too over the top for me, and they borrowed a lot from comedies of the past. There are some good laughs here and there, but not nearly enough of them to warrant a purchase. I would stick with a rental on this one.
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Audio Video News
Sony Big OLED One-Two Punch
SV Staff  |  May 22, 2008
After some breaking news a few weeks ago slamming the projected lifetime of their XEL-1 OLED screens, Sony has two exciting news stories. Undaunted by bad press, Sony announced they're dumping $210 million into developing medium to large OLED...
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Audio Video News
Panasonic: Delivering More Affordable Blu Chips
SV Staff  |  May 22, 2008
One of the reasons many consumers are holding off on buying into Blu-ray is their complaints about the cost.  Hopefully, Panasonic's latest development will help bring the price down, reduce power consumption, and add more features....
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Audio Video News
3D TV, But Where Are the Goofy Glasses?
SV Staff  |  May 22, 2008
Philips is setting some lofty goals. According to them, TV went from black and white to color, and now high def to 3D. Come on, who doesn't love 3D? Theaters full of people trying to look cool while wearing hideously funny-looking 3D glasses. Arms...
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Audio Video News
Samsung Shows Bidirectional CableCARD DVR
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 22, 2008
The Samsung SMT-3090, recently shown at the CableNET show, is the first DVR with Tru2way, or bidirectional CableCARD. Unlike the existing five-year-old CableCARD standard, which is unidirectional, the new one can support video on demand and pay per view cable programming, addressing a longtime cable-industry complaint.
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Other Tech
Energy Take Classic Home Theater System
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  May 21, 2008

The Short Form

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LCD TV Reviews
LG 52LBX LCD TV
Lawrence E. Ullman  |  May 21, 2008

Introduced as LG's flagship line of 1080p LCD TVs just last summer, the Korean giant's LBX series began shipping to dealers in the forth quarter of 2007. The LBX TVs seemed promising, albeit relatively light in features compared to some similarly priced competitors.

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