Chris Chiarella

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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Wonder Woman
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 19, 2018
Picture
Sound
Extras
Many filmmakers would surely crack under the challenges of finally bringing Wonder Woman to the big screen. But the remarkably gifted Patty Jenkins (writer/director of 2004’s Monster, her last feature) tackles the ambitious production—an action-heavy World War I– era period piece—with educated gusto, thoughtfully honoring and expanding upon the beloved heroine’s legacy. Of course, none of that matters without the right star, and Gal Gadot’s Princess Diana combines strength, brains, and innocence to give this movie an irresistible heart.
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3D Blu-ray Movie ReviewsBlu-ray Movie Reviews
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 21, 2015
Picture
3D-ness
Sound
Extras
You’d think that the unique power to control metal, or the weather, or other people’s minds would be awesome, but no. In the world of the X-Men, mutated superhumans with such gifts are feared and hated and—in one possible future—will be hunted to the brink of extinction by an army of killer robots. Even worse, these deadly machines will also begin targeting us ordinary human beings, and the world we know now appears doomed.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
X-Men: Days of Future Past–The Rogue Cut
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 23, 2015
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Sound
Extras
Remember reading that Oscar winner and True Blood star Anna Paquin was going to reprise her role as the mutant Rogue in the most recent X-Men movie, Days of Future Past? And then the movie came out and she was in exactly two shots with nary a word of dialogue, and even that moment came a scant four-and-a-half minutes before the end? Well, there was in fact more planned for her, and the new “Rogue Cut” reinstates her scenes as part of a rethought, expanded version of the movie. To be frank, it’s largely the same story you’re probably used to. Rogue’s return has minimal impact on the plot, but there are lots of other little changes along the way too, successfully enhancing the overall drama.
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Other Source Component Reviews
Xploder HDTV Player for PlayStation 2
Chris Chiarella  |  Feb 14, 2007
It’s curious timing for a new PS2 accessory, but this one is a dandy. For those of you who just couldn’t wait for the debut of the PS3, or, more to the point, couldn’t afford to buy one of the scarce wonder boxes off of eBay, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy your favorite PlayStation titles in high definition right now, thanks to the Xploder HDTV Player for PlayStation 2 ($40).
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Soundbar Reviews
Yamaha YAS-101 Soundbar
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 31, 2013
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $300 At a Glance: Renders 5.1 signals as "7.1" • Multiple digital inputs, no analog • An easy form factor to live with

The valley between most televisions' woeful onboard audio and the glory of a full-on 5.1-, 6.1-, or 7.1-channel audio system is a broad one indeed, and wending its way through the middle like some bittersweet creek is the much-maligned soundbar. Once dismissed by the techno-elite as home theater for the lazy, the soundbar has since evolved into a viable compromise bet ween…well, something great and nothing at all.

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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 24, 2021
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In what will surely go down in history as a textbook example of a successful online campaign to release a much-wanted movie, the #releasethesnydercut movement ultimately convinced Warner Bros. to complete and distribute director Zack Snyder's original vision for his DC Comics Extended Universe ("DCEU") team-up flick, Justice League. Snyder's departure from the project during production led to the hiring of Joss Whedon to oversee final work on the movie for its November 2017 theatrical debut, writing and directing new scenes on the way to a two-hour cut. That version largely left audiences cold, particularly fans of Snyder's previous DCEU films, despite co-star Gal Gadot's wave of popularity from her Wonder Woman solo film a few months earlier.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Zodiac 4K
Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 04, 2024
Picture
Sound
Extras
With David Fincher at the helm and a clever script by James Vanderbilt, Zodiac tells its story thoughtfully, unhurriedly, and with a great specificity befitting one of the most notorious true-crime sagas in American history.
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Bookshelf Speaker ReviewsSoundbar Reviews
ZVOX 315 Sound Console Amplified Audio System
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 17, 2005
A definite cut above the ordinary.

There are many different approaches to home theater, which is one of the reasons why this magazine is as burly as it is, month after month. The stereo speakers built into many modern televisions are nirvana for some, while carefully matched loudspeakers, preamplifiers, processors, and amps are the only solution that others would ever consider. Somewhere between those two polar extremes are the ubiquitous home-theater-in-a-box systems and novel products like the ZVOX 315 Sound Console. The idea here is simple, and noble, offering your TV a painless upgrade to the inadequate audio it was born with.

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Home Theater Systems Reviews
ZVOX Mini Sound Console Amplified Audio System
Chris Chiarella  |  May 20, 2006
A lot of sound from a little box.

As I speed-dial my cell phone to reach my wife in the kitchen, to ask her to bring me another Dr. Pepper, it hits me: People want it easy. Too often, however, "easy" and "home theater" don't mix, unless, for example, you have the means and the know-how to hire a good custom installer to hook up your gear and configure your universal remote. ZVOX clearly understands the critical anti-work ethic of home entertainment. Their original 315 Sound Console (in our April 2005 issue) connects to a TV or audio source with a comforting "Set it, and forget it!" philosophy, previously applicable only in the realm of Ron Popeil's famous rotisseries. ZVOX's goal is to deliver spacious home theater audio with only one cable connected to a single box.

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