Chris Chiarella

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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
News of the World
Chris Chiarella  |  May 28, 2021
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It can be taken for granted that if Tom Hanks is starring in a movie, we will become acquainted with a compelling lead character. Also, if Paul Greengrass is directing, it will be an exciting ride. Following the South's loss in the Civil War, Texas circa 1870 was a complicated place and time in the United States. World-weary Captain Kidd (not Phillips) ekes out a humble existence traveling from town to town, reading the news of the day to small groups of dime-paying customers who might otherwise remain oblivious.
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Portable Player Reviews
Nintendo DS Lite
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 30, 2006
Liten Up Baby, I'm in Love with You

Music, movies, and other multimedia applications aside, no one can touch Nintendo in the world of portable gaming. From the first Game Boy in 1989, the intuitive user interface, the addictive gameplay, and the cutting-edge hardware design ensured that seemingly every man, woman, and child on the planet would essentially buy at least six of each new handheld model, based on Nintendo's most recent sales figures.

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Other Source Component Reviews
Nintendo Wii Game Console
Chris Chiarella  |  May 21, 2007  |  Published: Apr 21, 2007
Putting the fun back into next-generation consoles.

Nintendo's follow-up to their popular GameCube—number three in the Big Three consoles of the previous generation—is the Wii (pronounced "we"), which represents a very different approach from SCEA's and Microsoft's next-gen gaming offerings. The humble Wii de-emphasizes the absolute latest and greatest in graphics and game audio, supporting a maximum video resolution of only 480p, in EDTV mode. Instead, it offers innovation in game design and control. And you can buy two of these Wii consoles for the price of the stripped-down PlayStation 3 model.

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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
No Time to Die
Chris Chiarella  |  Feb 11, 2022
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Daniel Craig's fifth and final outing as the world's most famous secret agent (umm...) is a fitting farewell to an era that saw old-school spy James Bond struggling to find his place in the contemporary world. That's no small task when his reputation as a gun-toting, martini-swilling, two-fisted womanizer precedes him, and so the plots often revolve around his apparent unsuitability for the job of protecting England and the rest of the planet—before he proves the haters wrong, of course.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Nobody
Chris Chiarella  |  Jul 30, 2021
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Universal Studios needn't have advertised on Nobody's disc cover that it sprang from the mind of Derek Kolstad, writer of John Wick, since it's at its core the same movie. And that's not such a bad thing, since the erstwhile-enforcer-makes-a-violent-comeback formula is a winning one. This time the story lives or dies on the substantial charm of star Bob Odenkirk, who for the most part keeps his renowned comedic chops under wraps, instead allowing the humor to grow from the incongruity of suburban schlemiel Hutch's explosive and deadly skills.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Nomadland
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 10, 2021
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Movies can reveal a world mainstream audiences might not have been aware of, and in doing so they go beyond mere entertaining to offering actual enlightenment. Such is the case with Nomadland. Winner of 2020 Oscars for Best Picture, Director, and Actress, the film depicts a culture of folks with little in the way of material possessions—really just a vehicle and a few incidentals—who relish their freedom and mobility as they roam this great land.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Nope
Chris Chiarella  |  Feb 03, 2023
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Rather than spoon-feed moviegoers, writer/director Jordan Peele opts to challenge us with his stories, so much so that upon first viewing, I didn't quite grasp what Nope was really about. Yes, a softspoken horse wrangler's father dies suddenly and mysteriously, leaving the future of the struggling generations-old family business—supplying four-hooved stars to show business—in doubt.

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Media Server Reviews
Nyko Intercooler 360
Chris Chiarella  |  Jul 19, 2006
The most important Xbox 360 accessory you'll ever own.

Remember the buzz shortly after the launch of the Microsoft Xbox 360 last year regarding concerns of the super-powered system overheating amid all of that heavy bit-lifting? Nyko has stepped up and done something about it.

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Out Of The Blu
Of Mice and Monkeys: The Rescuers/Rescuers Down Under, Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles and Disneynature Chimpanzee
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 24, 2012
Disney spins tales of rescues fantastical and actual, while a master named Chuck Jones puts his unique comedic spin on the little cheese-lovers.
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Streaming Device Reviews
Omnifi DMS1 Streamer and DMP1 Player
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 19, 2004  |  Published: Aug 01, 2004
With Omnifi, your MP3s are everywhere you want to be.

Liberating gear such as that manufactured by Omnifi, a division of Rockford Fosgate, compels me to look at where I spend the bulk of my waking hours: at the office, in the home theater, or in the car. As with all great action heroes, my daily adventures are set to music—not a problem when I'm chained to my desk with my entire music library at my disposal on my hard drive. A portable player is one way to transcend the confines of the workspace, and some even arrive bundled with cables to plug into a hi-fi system for all to enjoy, but this is hardly an elegant approach.

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