David Vaughn

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
African Cats
David Vaughn  |  Oct 14, 2011  |  0 comments
Deep in the heart of the African savanna, a rivalry between two lion prides takes place while a cheetah family tries to stick together. Mara is an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother's strength, spirit, and wisdom, but an accident threatens to make her an orphan. Then there's Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five newborns who must try and keep her cubs alive until they can fend for themselves. Finally, there's Fang, the leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion clan that is looking to take over his land.

This is the first Disneynature production I've had a chance to see, and while the narrative is geared toward younger audiences, I still enjoyed it. The young cheetah and lion cubs are adorable, and I kept wondering how the filmmakers were able to get such close-up images. The story can turn a tad dark at times, but Disney provides a great vehicle to introduce kids to the African savanna.

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Accessory Reviews
Air Def TV
David Vaughn  |  Jul 05, 2012  |  0 comments
Do wireless HDMI kits really work? We test three to find out.

In late 2003, HDMI-equipped consumer-electronic devices started to appear on the market. Unfortunately, the transition to digital has been anything but smooth. Although HDMI was a vast improvement over DVI (Digital Visual Interface) in its ability to carry both audio and video in one cable, it came with its own set of issues.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Alice in Wonderland
David Vaughn  |  May 25, 2010  |  0 comments
Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now 19 years old, returns to the mysterious world she first entered as a child and embarks on a journey to discover her true destiny. Along the way, she meets the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), and many others who help her complete her quest.

I'm a huge fan of director Tim Burton and was eager to see his take on the classic tale. The theatrical reviews were mixed, but the box-office take ($332 million) makes it Disney's fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. Despite the bizarre second act, it's very entertaining, and the amazing sets and costumes certainly helped draw me in. While not perfect, the 1080p encode boasts some amazingly detailed scenes, and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is just as impressive with a plethora of discrete effects.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Alice in Wonderland - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jan 31, 2011  |  0 comments
While dozing off, young Alice dreams about falling down a rabbit hole that is populated by a peculiar series of misadventures. The always sensible Alice whirls through a world of contradictions, imagination, and surprises where she encounters amazing creatures including a pocket watch-toting White Rabbit, the imperious Queen of Hearts and her army of playing cards, and a Cheshire Cat with a lingering smile.

Walt Disney was one of the most influential movie makers of the 20th Century and had considered adapting Lewis Carroll's famous story in 1933, but shelved the idea after Paramount released its version. He later had artist David Hall create some concept art for the project, but WWII intervened and his animated version didn't hit the screen until 1951. On a recent visit to the Walt Disney Museum in San Francisco, I discovered that Walt wasn't too keen on the results of the film and complained that it had no "heart." I tend to agree with him and as a kid this was one of my least favorite Disney productions.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Alien Anthology (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Oct 27, 2010  |  3 comments
On its return trip to Earth, the Nostromo intercepts a distress call from a distant planet. The crew is awakened from cryo-sleep by the ship's computer and goes to the planet to investigate. It turns out the signal wasn't a call for help; it was a warning to stay clear. When one of the crew is attacked by an Alien lifeform, the other crew members have no idea what they've unleashed upon themselves by letting the man back on the ship.

In the excellent sequel Aliens, we catch up with Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) after her harrowing escape in the first movie. Fifty-seven years have past when she's found floating in space in cryo-sleep and no one from "the company" believes her horrific tale of survival until all contact is lost with the colonists from planet LV-426, which is introduced in the first movie. Soon she finds herself headed back to the dreaded planet with a team of Marines to investigate.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Allegiant
David Vaughn  |  Oct 14, 2016  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
With Erudite’s leader overthrown, Four’s mother is now in control of Chicago, and instead of getting on with their lives, it’s payback time for those who oppressed the people under the previous leadership. Tris wants no part of this, and she and Four lead a team of rebels on a daring escape beyond the wall where they face an even larger threat. Tris is then befriended by the mysterious leader, but Four’s spidey sense tells him to be on guard—and for good reason.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Almost Famous (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jan 30, 2011  |  0 comments
William (Patrick Fugit) is a 15-year-old music fan who gets a dream assignment to travel with an up-and-coming band and write a cover story for Rolling Stone magazine. His mother (Frances McDormand) isn't thrilled with the gig, but the young man hits the road with the band and learns there's more to write about than just music.

Writer/director Cameron Crowe burst on the scene in 1982 by penning Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which went on to become a hit with the teen audience. He wasn't a one hit wonder by writing/directing Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, and then the film based on his own youth, Almost Famous. While I can't particularly relate to the era (I'm more of an 80s guy), there were certain aspects of the film that gave me a chuckle. For example, my daughter is almost 15 and I couldn't imagine her going on the road with a band, so I certainly empathized with his mother's reaction.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Alvin and the Chipmunks
David Vaughn  |  Mar 30, 2008  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/403alvin.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Struggling songwriter Dave Seville (Jason Lee) opens his home to a talented trio of chipmunks—Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The three are funny, mischievous, adventurous, and, oh yes, they can talk and sing! When music producer Ian Hawk (David Cross) forces Dave out of the picture, he plans to make millions from the chipmunks' unique abilities.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (Blu-ray Disc)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 31, 2010  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/squeakquel.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When Dave (Jason Lee) has an unfortunate accident, the chipmunks end up in the care of his dimwitted nephew Toby (Zachary Levy) and have to face the rigors of high school without any parental guidance. It's there that the three hit singers meet the Chippettes&#151;Brittany, Eleanor, and Janette&#151;whom they must challenge in order to represent their school in a district wide battle of the bands to save the schools music program.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Amadeus: The Director's Cut Amadeus: The Director's Cut
David Vaughn  |  Feb 19, 2009  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/amadeus.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>In 1781, court composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) is maddened with envy after discovering that the divine musical gifts he desires for himself have been bestowed on the lewd, mischievous Mozart (Tom Hulce), whom he plots to destroy by any means necessary. Salieri appreciates Mozart's miraculous compositions more than anyone while blaming God for his own musical shortcomings.

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