This Month's Featured Equipment Reviews |
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Past DVD Hardware / Software News |
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Documentary
Tuesday, 20 November 2001 |
Written by
Tara O'Shea
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Despite the (almost) unforgivable geek faux pas of referring to Japanese anime as "Japanimation," the Wachowski Brothers are the ultimate geeks. They are geeks who are so cool, they make being a geek cool.
"Matrix Revisited" illustrates in remarkable detail how the brothers from Chicago took their comic book roots, Hong Kong action movie adoration, and anime sensibilities, and didn't budge an inch when it came to bringing their incredibly smart film to the screen by using those very resources. From the world of comics, they brought in acclaimed illustrator Geof Darrow (Hardboiled) as a Conceptual Designer, and their Ecto-Kid collaborator Steve Skroce as Storyboard Artist. They insisted that, like their Hong Kong counterparts, the actors perform their own fights and undergo a rigorous four month training regimen with Master Yuen Wo Ping and his stunt team. The "impossible" shots they ...
Tuesday, 24 April 2001 |
Written by
Richard Elen
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title:
Point Of View (an Interactive movie)
function popUp(URL,NAME) {
amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10');
amznwin.focus();}
document.open();
document.write("");
document.close(); <br>
studio:
Aftermath Media/DVD International
MPAA rating:
N/A
starring:
Stefanie Von Pfetten, Chris Bradford, Christopher Shyer, Paul Jarrett
release year:
2000
film rating:
Four Stars
reviewed by:
Richard Elen
Have you ever been watching a movie and wondered what would happen if
you could change how the characters behaved? Have you ever wished you
could? If so, "Point Of View" will be a must-see for you. In "Point Of
View," your own attitudes and emotions determine the development of the
storyline in this tense psychological thriller.
This is the second fully-interactive movie designed exclusively for DVD
by writer/director David Wheeler and designer/producer Rob Landeros,
aka Aftermath Media (if those names sound familiar, you may remember
them from hit computer games like "Seventh Guest" and "11th Hour"). The
first was 1998’s award-winning "Tender Loving Care," starring John
Hurt; "Point Of View" is their latest effort, following a move to
Vancouver and teaming up with Digital Circus Entertainment.
The ...
Tuesday, 26 September 2000 |
Written by
Abbie Bernstein
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title:
Molokai: The Story of 'Father Damien'
function popUp(URL,NAME) {
amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10');
amznwin.focus();}
document.open();
document.write("");
document.close(); <br>
studio:
A-Pix Entertainment
MPAA rating:
PG
starring:
David Wenham, Leo McKern, Sam Neill, Kris Kristofferson, Alice Krige, Peter O’Toole
release year:
2000
film rating:
Three Stars
reviewed by:
Abbie Bernstein
‘Molokai: The Story of “Father Damien” ’ is a fact-based drama that is
intriguing, partly because of the manner in which it is handled by
director Paul Cox and screenwriter John Briley, and partly because of
the extraordinary beauty of its Hawaiian locations.
Tuesday, 18 January 2000 |
Written by
Bill Warren
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title:
Trinity And Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie
function popUp(URL,NAME) {
amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10');
amznwin.focus();}
document.open();
document.write("");
document.close();
studio:
Goldhil DVD
MPAA rating:
Unrated
narrated by:
William Shatner
release year:
1995
film rating:
Four stars
reviewed by:
Bill Warren
Peter Kuran is a special effects technician, one of the best in the
business, but he's also long been fascinated by nuclear bombs. This
documentary on the history of America's nuclear tests, brilliantly
pieced together out of many sources, is a demonstration of that
fascination. Unfortunately, he takes no direct stand on the validity or
morality of nuclear testing, though the frequent citing of figures does
add its own kind of wry commentary. Did the U.S. really need to do
1,054 nuclear weapons tests?
Tuesday, 30 November 1999 |
Written by
Bill Warren
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title:
The Last Days
function popUp(URL,NAME) {
amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10');
amznwin.focus();}
document.open();
document.write("");
document.close();
studio:
USA Home Entertainment
MPAA rating:
PG-13
starring:
Irene Zisblatt, Reneé Firestone, Alice Lok Cahana, Bill Basch, Tom Lantos. Also Dr. Randolph Braham, Dr. Hans MÜnch, others.
release year:
1998
film rating:
Four and a half stars
reviewed by:
Bill Warren
When Steven Spielberg, executive producer of this film, made
SCHINDLER'S LIST, he was plunged into the history of the Nazi
extermination camps, and the Holocaust. He established the Shoah
Foundation, set up to collect on video interviews with as many
survivors of the camps as possible. This work continues, and thousands
of interviews have been conducted. This remarkable documentary, which
won the Oscar for best documentary feature of its year, is the first
public result of this work.
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