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Reviewed
this month: Tombstone, Evolution,
Rush
Hour 2, The Score, Robinson
Crusoe
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review format as featured on this page.
 Tombstone:
The Director's Cut
(Vista Series)
Movie A |
Video A | Audio A+
| Extras A- | Recommended!
Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Michael Biehn, Powers
Boothe, Robert Burke, Dana Delany, Sam Elliott, Stephen Lang, Joanna
Pacula, Bill Paxton, Jason Priestley, Michael Rooker, Jon Tenney,
Billy Zane, and Charlton Heston
director George P. Cosmatos | Hollywood Pictures (Buena Vista)
1993 |
Action - Western | R | 134 minutes
Region 1 |
2-disc set | DVD-9
& DVD-5 | THX
certified
anamorphic
widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio
DTS 5.1 | Dolby Digital 5.1
Summary: "Tombstone" is one of
the best western movies ever made, and this director's cut Vista
Series is even better. It's a fairly true-to-the-spirit recount
of the famous and legendary peace officer from Kansas, Wyatt Earp
(Kurt Russell). Joined by his brothers and his loyal friend Doc
Holliday (Val Kilmer), Wyatt leaves Kansas and moves to Tombstone in
search of their fortune as civilians. Before they know it, they
are dragged back into the life of U.S. Marshalls in upholding the law
in the wild west. The acting performances from this all-star
cast is superb in every way. The gun-slinging action is second
to none. As a Vista Series DVD, the bonus features do give
viewers an insightful look into the director's vision, imagination,
style, theme and artistry (defining VISTA as in
Vista Series). Though this Vista Series DVD still falls somewhat
short of premium DVD releases from other studios (such as DreamWorks,
Universal, and New Line), this is still a top notch western and a
feature rich DVD. Fans of western movies will love it and
non-fans will find much to like in this action-western film that is
rich in character study as it is rich in action. Highly
recommended.
Special Features: audio commentary by director
George P. Cosmatos, the making of Tombstone featurette (three
parts: "An Ensemble Cast", "Making An Authentic
Western", and "The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral"),
interactive Tombstone timeline, director's original storyboards: O.K.
Corral Sequence, The Tombstone Epitaph (actual newspaper account),
collectible Tombstone map, Faro at the Oriental: Game of Change (DVD-ROM)
DVD re- released as a Vista Series/director's cut
on 1/15/2002 | Reviewed 1/19/2002
List $29.99 | online $19.99 | order from Amazon.com,
Buy.com
for $19.99 (33% off)
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 Evolution
Movie B |
Video A- | Audio A
| Extras B+
David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott,
Julianne Moore
director Ivan Reitman | DreamWorks
2001 | Science Fiction - Comedy | PG-13 | 102 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-9
| anamorphic
widescreen 1.85:1
aspect ratio
DTS 5.1 | Dolby Digital 5.1
Summary: "Evolution" is an
off-the-wall comedy
about an alien lifeform invading the planet Earth. The lifeform is a
single cell organism that catches a ride on a meteor that hits earth in an
Arizona desert. Two community college professors try to study the
foreign organisms, as it literally evolves and adapts overnight to the
conditions on Earth. These new lifeforms begin to wreck havoc in a
neighboring community and threaten to take over Earth. Thanks to the
big-name talents, this comedy is genuinely goofy if you don't take the
"science" part of this science fiction movie so seriously.
The visual special effects are general good and works well for this
comedy. Give this movie a try if you're in the mood for some
light-hearted comedy.
Special Features: a conversation (audio
commentary) with director Ivan Reitman, David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, and
Seann William Scott, (6) deleted scenes including an alternate ending, HBO
first look "The Evolution of Evolution" featurette, storyboard
selections (comparisons with final film), visual effects featurette, photo
gallery, cast, filmmakers, production notes
DVD released 12/26/2001 | Reviewed 1/24/2002
List $26.99 | online $18.49 | order from Amazon.com,
Buy.com
for $18.49
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 Rush
Hour 2 (infinifilm™)
Movie B |
Video A | Audio A
| Extras A+
Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Zhang Ziyi, Roselyn
Sanchez
director Brett Ratner | New Line
2001 |
Action - Comedy | PG-13 | 90 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-9
| anamorphic
widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio
DTS-ES
6.1 discrete | Dolby Digital EX 5.1
Summary: Like many sequels, "Rush Hour
2" doesn't quite live up to the original. But surprisingly for such a large box
office hit (over $210 million), I found myself quickly tired of Chris Tucker's non-stop
motor-mouth action. In all fairness to Chris Tucker, I blame this on the
poor script. The formulation of the familiar buddy-cop duo theme just didn't work
that well for me. I'm a
fan of Jackie
Chan's martial arts action, but I find myself wanting more out of the action sequences.
They were quite short by Chinese martial arts action film standards.
But at least they have that familiar Jackie Chan physical comedic
flair. I suppose most fellow American audiences enjoy this type of
comedy, but I found it quite overbearing. On the other hand, the bonus features are rich,
typical with many New Line DVD releases, but especially so with their
ultra-premium infinifilm brand. Fans will find much supplemental
material to like.
Special Features: infinifilm pop-up viewing
feature, audio commentary with director Brett Ratner and writer Jeff
Nathanson, "Making Magic Out of Mire", evolution of a scene,
fashion of Rush Hour 2, visual effects deconstruction, deleted
scenes/outtakes, Jackie Chan's Hong Kong introduction, "Culture
Clash: West Meets East", "Language Barrier",
"Attaining International Stardom", Kung Fu choreography,
"Lady Luck" an early film of director Brett Ratner, fact track,
(3) theatrical trailers, cast and crew
DVD released 12/11/2001 | Reviewed
1/22/2002
List $26.98 | online $19.99 | order from Amazon.com,
Buy.com
for $19.99
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 The
Score
Movie A- |
Video A- | Audio A-
| Extras B
Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Angela Bassett, Marlon Brando
director Frank Oz | Paramount Pictures
2001 |
Action - Suspense | PG-13 | 124 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-9
| anamorphic
widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio
Dolby Digital 5.1
Summary: "The Score" is a sleek action-suspense film about the would-be last heist of a retiring
veteran safe cracker. Yeah, right. Though I'm not a big fan of
Robert DeNiro, this has got to be one of his best films. Edward
Norton plays his character to perfection, as in many of his works ("Primal
Fear",
"Fight Club"). Character
development is as fulfilling as the plot is thick. There are
surprise twists that will keep you on your toes. This is a great
film. And even if you're not a fan of heist movies, catch it
before it eludes you. Enthusiastically recommended.
Special Features: audio commentary by director
Frank oz and director of photography Rob Hahn, the making of The Score
featurette, (3) deleted scenes, theatrical trailer
DVD released 12/11/2001 | Reviewed 1/16/2002
List $29.99 | online $20.49 | order from Amazon.com,
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 Robinson
Crusoe
Movie B |
Video B+ | Audio B
| Extras D
Pierce Brosnan, William Takaku, Polly Walker
directors George Miller & Rodney K. Hardy | Miramax (Buena Vista)
1996 | Action - Adventure | PG-13 | 91 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-5
| anamorphic
widescreen 1.85:1
aspect ratio
DTS 5.1 | Dolby Digital 5.1
Summary: Pierce Brosnan stars in the title
role as a man shipwrecked on a deserted island in this classic tale from
Daniel Defoe. Crusoe manages to survive, but when a native tribe
from a nearby island comes for a visit and conducts barbaric sacrificial
rituals, his life is threatened. What becomes of this is a story
that justifiably made Robinson Crusoe a timeless classic. From what
I can remember of the novel, this movie takes generous theatrical license
in bringing this tale to the big screen. Acting performances are
mixed from the whole cast, though performances Pierce Brosnan and William
Takaku (good man Friday) were solid. As a DVD, it falls short.
The picture quality was quite soft and lacked
sharpness and resolution of detail. The sound design was very
conservative, with little use of the surround channels. This seems to be
both a budget film production and a
budget DVD production. But if you want to experience a version of
the Robinson Crusoe story as a movie, it's worth a look as a rental but
not a purchase.
Special Features: theatrical trailer, sneak
peeks at "Bravo Two Zero", "Calle 54", and
"Robert Louis Stevenson's St. Ives"
DVD released 1/22/2002 | Reviewed 1/25/2002
List $32.99 | online $24.49 | order from Amazon.com,
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next month
>>
Additional Notes: Unless we specify otherwise, the
video and audio quality are very good when their grades are "A-"
or better. Only the highest number of channels of surround sound
format is listed (e.g., Dolby Digital 5.1). If there are both Dolby
Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, then both are listed. All
DVD-Video discs are backwards compatible with stereo-only playback
systems.
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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four
B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio
rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year
2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.
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United We Stand
