Chris Chiarella

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 17, 2017  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
In a world of seemingly infinite crappy sequels, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is worthy of special praise for getting so much right. While delivering another dose of the irreverent humor and hybrid-fantasy action that made the first film so popular, it also cultivates the themes and plot lines so that the two volumes fit seamlessly, telling an epic story.
Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Guts and Glory: 10 Great Comic Book Movies on Blu-ray
Chris Chiarella  |  May 10, 2013  |  0 comments
When an older and quite esteemed film expert asked me not long ago what my favorite genre was, I was honestly flummoxed. Pixar isn’t a genre, and I’ve just seen too many lame science-fiction flicks. Looking back over a life of film fandom and the past decade in particular, I finally came up with an eyebrow-raising response: comic book movies.
Continue Reading >
The S&V Interview
HDNet's Mark Cuban
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 28, 2005  |  Published: Jul 28, 2005  |  0 comments
The always-expressive entrepreneur speaks out on a doubling HD audience and idiots who shoot in NTSC.

For a great many guys, to know Mark Cuban is to envy him: The outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks is also the founder of the all-high-definition TV network, HDNet, which has since added his latest success, HDNet Movies, as well. Mark recently spoke to Home Theater about his newest offerings, the challenges and benefits of high-def, and an unusual prediction for the impending next-generation DVD format war.

Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Heat
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 14, 2023  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras

Michael Mann's preeminent crime thriller somehow eluded wide audiences in 1995 but has since become an absolute classic of the genre. As he did with Thief several years prior, the writer/director goes deep into the world of career crooks, imparting specific tricks of the trade while revealing the perpetrators as utterly no-nonsense individuals. We can't dismiss them as heartless—their attempts to establish or maintain relationships yield much of the film's fascinating character drama—yet they are incredibly dangerous, willing to kill without hesitation as needed.

Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Heavy Metal
Chris Chiarella  |  May 20, 2022  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
Adult-skewing animation wasn't a new genre by 1981 (thank you, Ralph Bakshi), but was the world at that time ready for Heavy Metal? Inspired by the illustrated fantasy publication of the same name, this R-rated feature film served up a disparate series of sex-and-violence-filled short stories, loosely held together by the presence of a deadly mystical sphere called the Loc-Nar. Since each issue was an anthology, with assorted tales from a variety of creators, the range of dramatic tones and visual styles here perfectly captures the spirit of the magazine.
Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 28, 2017  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
Anchored by a disquietingly reserved performance from star Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy), this Portrait is an artful character study of a very bad man. Loosely based upon documented events, Henry explores the unspeakable crimes of an unrepentant murderer, a dark soul whose bleak existence is punctuated by frequent acts of violence. And when he brings his particularly loathsome roommate into the fold, no one in Chicago is safe. The matter-of-fact dramatic style makes the instances of gore hit that much harder, and yet plot developments are sometimes revealed in clever, original ways.
Continue Reading >
Media Server Reviews
Here, There, and Everywhere
Chris Chiarella  |  Dec 04, 2006  |  Published: Nov 04, 2006  |  0 comments
New streaming and networking options for the home and beyond.

Sling Media
I bet our founding fathers came to this same conclusion: One of the obstacles to true freedom is the necessity of wrapping your mind around the new benefits that await you. Take the Slingbox. It's a revolutionary piece of hardware, if you can grasp the relationship between audio, video, and networking. It takes the signal from any standard home entertainment device and streams it to a computer elsewhere in your house—or via the Internet to a laptop, desktop, and even certain phones. The best source component to use with the Slingbox is a DVR, as it combines live TV with stored content and recording capability, all of which you can control remotely.

Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Hidden Figures
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 11, 2017  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
Return to a time when “computers” were exceptionally intelligent, hardworking human beings who crunched the daunting numbers needed to advance the space program. Sadly, this was also an era of rampant sexism in this country, as well as deeply rooted racism, especially in the South where the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was headquartered. In 1961, Russian dominance in outer space put NASA at the heart of the Cold War.
Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
High Noon
Chris Chiarella  |  Jun 09, 2017  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
An undeniable dramatic masterpiece, High Noon has lost none of its considerable power to enthrall an audience with its relentless suspense born of inexorable doom. We know at once that Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) is a damned good man. Yet when news breaks that a murderer he sent to hang is instead returning with his gang for revenge, he is heartlessly shunned by the townsfolk he has risked his life to protect.
Continue Reading >
Other TechNew Products
Ho-Ho-Home Theater’s 2012 Holiday Gift Guide!
Chris Chiarella  |  Dec 07, 2012  |  2 comments
What do you get for the home theater buff who has everything…even if that home theater buff is you? We’ve uncovered an assortment of add-ons, doodads, and whatnot that will raise the bar on your audio/video rig and beyond.
Continue Reading >

Pages

X