Chris Chiarella

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Audio Video News
Best Damned PC TV Tuner Ever?
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 27, 2005  |  0 comments
More and more PC fanatics have grown to appreciate the computer as a television, fully exploiting the kick-ass video potential of even a run-of-the-mill PC monitor, first for viewing then for timeshifting/recording and even burning those recordings to DVD. The ATI TV Wonder Elite ($149) has it all covered. A surprisingly complicated chain of technology is necessary to achieve this amount of functionality at this level of quality, although it is all ultimately transparent to the end user, with a very user-friendly interface to boot. The TV Wonder Elite (TVWE) is also designed to work seamlessly with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.
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3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Beyond the Arthouse
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 21, 2018  |  0 comments
The monthly announcements of upcoming Criterion releases often list films I can’t pronounce, let alone recognize. But in truth, the esteemed specialty label splits its attention between lesser- known cinema and popular movies, and this recent Blu-ray menagerie holds a pair of Oscar-winners, an enduring 1985 hit, and a singular genre classic.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Big Hero 6
Chris Chiarella  |  Jul 02, 2015  |  0 comments
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Genius teen Hiro Hamada has already lost his parents, but when tragedy strikes again, he uses his scientific know-how to turn mild-mannered, inflatable nurse-bot Baymax into a karate-kicking, armor-plated crime-fighter. But is Hiro out for justice...or vengeance? Either way, the duo can’t win this fight without help, and so they join forces with a group of friends to form their own high-tech super-squad, finding plenty of excitement along the way, as well as some important lessons about what it means to be a hero. Inspired by a relatively obscure Marvel Comic, the Oscar-winning Big Hero 6 is an epic origin saga full of heart and humor.
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Home Theater Systems Reviews
Binaura Sound Environment B102A
Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 22, 2005  |  0 comments
Who says two slim boxes can't fill a home theater?

CES 2005. Tired. Wet from the Las Vegas snowstorm. Hungover from the technology discussion the night before. Stuck in a hotel suite for a demo: yet another home theater audio system with no surround-channel speakers? Can't be any good. Wait, there's only one speaker and a subwoofer? Must be a joke. And it's $599? An overpriced joke, I snarl internally.

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Out Of The Blu
Bite into Sushi Girl, The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and Little White Lies on Blu-ray
Chris Chiarella  |  Mar 01, 2013  |  0 comments
A trio of kinky, offbeat treats await the Blu-curious in this delicious high-def disc roundup.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 14, 2023  |  0 comments
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We haven't reviewed a title from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a while, so let's check in with the residents of the fictional African kingdom, Wakanda. In a deeply emotional opening scene, leader T'Challa dies, echoing the too-soon loss of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.

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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
BlacKkKlansman
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 25, 2019  |  0 comments
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In a story so jaw-dropping it has to be true, rookie African-American cop Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the only officer of color on the Colorado Springs police force, initiates an undercover investigation into the Ku Klux Klan amid tense race relations in the 1970s. His part is played over the telephone, and to perpetuate his ruse he is partnered with white officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Flip attends meetings in the guise of “Ron,” requiring the two men to coordinate their words and actions in order to present a unified front as they pretend to be a single hardcore bigot.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blade Runner 2049
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 13, 2018  |  0 comments
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The 1982 science-fiction opus Blade Runner remains an undeniable visual spectacle that fired the imaginations of many a viewer. While neither a bona fide critical or commercial success upon debut, it visualized a Los Angeles of the future beyond anything we’d seen before and set the stage for endless fan speculation that has led to five different studio-sanctioned cuts thus far. The sequel, 2049, was released to much of that same indifference. Thirty-five years coming, it still failed to generate a response befitting a cult franchise of this magnitude.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blue Is the Warmest Color (La Vie d’Adèle)
Chris Chiarella  |  May 22, 2014  |  0 comments
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Director Abdellatif Kechiche has crafted an engaging, truthful tale of unexpected and tempestuous romance between two young women. At three hours, it explores these characters and their relationship in extraordinary, almost excessive detail, so be warned. The graphic lovemaking scenes have garnered something of a reputation for Blue Is the Warmest Color, but they are in service to a powerful story of wild emotion. Despite dozens of international awards, including the top prize at Cannes, this one was hard to find in theaters here in the States, so this Blu-ray is especially welcome.
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Out Of The Blu
Blue Like Jazz, Titanic: 100 Years in 3D, Stallone 3-Film Collection
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 11, 2012  |  0 comments
Take a gander at a quirky, spiritual indie, a 3D study of the legendary doomed luxury liner, and our own private film festival to put us in the mood for Expendables 2.
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