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The Big Picture
Riddle Me This
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 14, 2008

In this blog a couple of months ago, I asked readers to vote on whether you wanted more audio reviews with fewer objective measurements or fewer reviews with more measurements, a choice I had to make in the face of budgetary constraints. Your input was very helpful, so now, I have another question for you...

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Dogma—Columbia Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 14, 2008
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Kevin Smith's religious epic caused a bit of a stir upon its first release. The comedy epic is witty and makes a nice satire out of the holy verses with a touch of Jay and Silent Bob. I'm on the fence about which Kevin Smith film is my favorite but this is definitely one of the front runners. The writing is excellent and the cast does a great job with the material. As long as you don't take it too seriously, this film is a lot of fun.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Alvin and the Chipmunks—20th Century Fox (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 14, 2008
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 2/5
Can't say I had high hopes for this one going in but Alvin and the Chipmunks ended up being one of the most enjoyable family films I saw this last year. I used to watch the cartoon when I was a kid and this feature film did a good job capturing the spirit and humor of the original show. There are some great laughs here and the music is catchy enough that my daughter had to get up a boogie a bit during the movie. Sure it has a lot of comedy clichs and Hollywood formula, but it was still solid family fun.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The 6th Day—Columbia Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 14, 2008
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3/5
You would think the "govenator" had a new film coming out this summer with all the Schwarzenegger films hitting Blu-ray shelves this past month. Sony throws their bid in with The 6th Day, an action thriller that takes a rather disturbing look at a possible near future where cloning has become common practice. We've seen these before and it seems like Hollywood always tries to cash in on the latest science buzz. The script is pretty horrendous when it comes to dialogue and delivery, but the action sequences and production make up for it a bit. One of Arnold's weaker films, but still a decent popcorn piece.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story—Columbia Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 14, 2008
Video: 5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 4/5
Parodies are always really hit or miss with me. The trailers for this one didn't do anything for me but Judd Apatow has been delivering some great comedies lately (Knocked Up and Superbad) so I was curious to give this one a spin. Unfortunately this wasn't the movie for me. I like comedies, but this one was just too silly for its own good. The longer director's cut didn't help either. Don't get me wrong, there are some incredibly funny moments in this film, but it gets bogged down by some of the over the top moments similar to Apatow's other disappointment, Talladega Nights. Fans of that film will probably find this one appealing in all areas, but I can't say I was much of a fan.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Underdog—Walt Disney Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 14, 2008
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3/5
I'd been holding off on watching this one until my daughter was visiting. She is five so I thought this would be a great one to sit down and watch with her. Unfortunately she got pretty bored with it, and so did I. The humor goes above their head most of the time, and falls pretty short of mine. The concept is cute and talking animals are always pretty funny, but the movie moves along at a slower pace than I would expect given its target audience. As far as family films go it is nice to see something with no real adult humor or innuendo, I just wish there was more to have fun with for 90 minutes.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Apr 14, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/414devil.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Phillip Seymour Hoffman stars as Andy, an overextended payroll executive who coerces his younger brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) into robbing a mom-and-pop jewelry store. The robbery doesn't go according to plan, and the "victimless" crime touches off a series of events that will forever change the brothers' lives.

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Audio Video News
BBC and Discovery Put High-Def on Ice
SV Staff  |  Apr 14, 2008
The Discovery Channel and BBC's "Planet Earth" series is popular among HDTV-owners eager to show off the up-close-and-personal vibrant images of wild animals, deep caves and lush forests on their large flat-screens. Spacing out in front of a...
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Audio Video News
HD Viewers to Double between 2007 and 2008
SV Staff  |  Apr 14, 2008
The whole world is slowly upgrading to high-def. While many countries can't compete with the U.S. in terms of adoption speeds, they're still latching on at their own pace. Only two percent of homes around the world watched high-definition...
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Audio Video News
Dish Won't Give Up TiVo Fight
SV Staff  |  Apr 14, 2008
Dish Network and TiVo have been battling in court since 2004 over Dish's alleged infringement of TiVo's recording-while-watching patent, but even though TiVo keeps winning, Dish won't give up. The latest development: a Federal Circuit court ruled...
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