The Movie:
Insomnia (1997) depicts a veteran Swedish detective called to Northern Norway to help solve a sex crime. The constant sunlight and a series of errors causes him to slowly drift into a sleepless insanity. The plot has several great twists and turns as you slowly watch this man endure his psychological battle against the elements and the case he needs to solve. If you are into psychological/crime thrillers, ala Hitchcock, this movie is for you.

The Picture:
The picture was quite stunning. There are no noticeable artifacts and Criterion did a fine job with this 16x9 release.

The Sound:
The sound is in DD 2.0, the movie is no "sound driven", so the lack of a 5.1 track is not a major flaw. The dialogue is in Norwegian and Swedish. Some of the music sounded a bit off, but that may be intentional on the part of the director.

The Extras:
...Read the entire review

The Movie:
La Femme Nikita tells the story of a young woman involved in street crime a drugs who is given a second chance to work for the French government to avoid be executed. The story of her transformation from an uncontrollable woman to a spy is very intriguing. The depth in which Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is portrayed is quite chilling her character can be elicit pity and anger quite easily. She falls in love with a store clerk, then must lead a double life as an assassin and lover. Overall, an excellent story with great acting.

The Picture:
The picture was quite nice, not noticeable artifacts or grain. The movie makes use of darker shades in the beginning of the movie, which look quite nice.

The Sound:
The best way to watch this movie is the original French 5.1 soundtrack with English subtitles. An English 5.1 track is also provided.

The ...Read the entire review

Strangers on a Train (1951) is a great DVD and certainly a must own for any Hitchcock fan. The film is presented in the original Academy aspect ratio, and the picture is quite good for a film of its age. Given the time the movie was shot, there are obviously no great explosions, etc. in store, but the audio track is quite good.

Strangers is the story of two men who meet purely by change on a train. One has a problem with his soon to be ex-wife, while the other is having difficulty with his father. A plot is suggested where they will exchange murders, however only one of the men take it seriously.

The story is a great tale of how one man deals with the consequences of his chance meeting and subsequent murder, while the other man deals with the fact that his murder has not been carried out. The story has great tension and is paced very well.

Hitchcock really shines in this movie as he cr...Read the entire review

Detriot Rock City
Detroit Rock City tells the tale of four High School students in 1978 attempting to attend a Kiss Concert. Naturally, things do not go as planned as the four teens attempt to over come disco fans, priests, bizarre parents, thugs, car thieves, and a host of other impediments.

The movie itself was nothing great, but is nostalgic for not only Kiss fans, but also Rock and Roll fans in general. Certainly, some high school memories will be jogged if you ever went to a concert with a bunch of friends to see your favorite band. The music in the movie was terrific, featuring not only Kiss classics, but also music from AC/DC, Van Halen, and a host of other mid to late-70s Rock and Roll.

The DVD features some great extras, including three (count them 3) commentary tracks. One by director Adam Rifkin, one by members of the cast and crew, and a third by Kiss. Two featurettes...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Free Enterprise shows how one man had a great influence on 2 children as they grew up, this man -- William Shatner. After reaching adulthood, these 2 friends finally get to meet their great hero, and find out he is not exactly what they expected. Shatner does a surprisingly good job of portraying a fictional version of himself, other actors in this film are pretty much unknown, but do a great job. If you are a fan of Star Trek, sci-fi in general, a HT buff, or a movie buff you will relate to these characters. There are many references to "classic" sci-fi movies and the joys and wonders of Home Theater. The story, besides Shatner, includes a love story and the interaction between a group of 4 friends, a reasonably interesting character study.

The Picture:
The picture is quite clear, there are no noticeable defects in the transfer.

The Sound:Read the entire review

Fled, starring Lawrence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin is a surprisingly solid movie. Though it certainly requires a healthy suspension of reality, the movie does have some elements of a good film. Two prisoners see their chance to escape and take advantage of it. After a series of plot twists, and a nice appearance by Selma Hayek, Piper (Fishburne) and Dodge (Baldwin) realize that they are entangled in a large web of deceit involving $25 million and the Cuban mob.

On the down side, some of the plot changes are quite unbelievable and will challenge some of the most willing to believe. Also, there are many cliques in the film that get a bit old after a while. This movie can best be described as a more unrealistic version of the Fugitive. However, it has its high moments and some nice action sequences. The movie, while entertaining, will probably have little repeat value for most DVD owners.

...Read the entire review

The Dark Half is not a very good DVD that gets off to a terrible start. The first thing seen on the DVD is the infamous "Modified to fit your screen" warning. The DVD only includes a Pan and presentation. The picture itself is OK, but nothing overly stunning. Audio-wise, the DVD contains a DD 2.0 track in both English and French.

The only extra on the disc is the original theatrical trailer. Those who have read the Stephen King book by the same name will probably be more disappointed in the movie than those who have not read it. The movie tells the tale of Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), a writer who has a deadly alter ego. The movie's pacing is way off, as the plot unfolds in a plodding manner. Unlike the book, which slowly builds tension and brings new excitement with each turn of the page, this movie is quite boring in many parts.

The acting, outside of Hutton, who gave a decent perf...Read the entire review