Blogcritics Category: Video: HD DVD

HD DVD Review: Beowulf (Director's Cut)

El Bicho — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:40:40 EDT

"Beowulf" sets the bar for Best HD DVD of 2008.
Young students might not heed Alvy Singer’s advice in Annie Hall about not taking “any course where they make you read Beowulf” because Robert Zemeckis has delivered an exciting adventure epic that will likely draw some to the source; however, they better not rely on only seeing the movie before the big test because screenwriters...

HD DVD Review: American Gangster

El Bicho — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:09:45 EDT

A film you can miss; a commentary track you shouldn't.
American Gangster is loosely based on the rise and fall of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), notorious heroin kingpin of Harlem in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He took over from his mentor Bumpy Johnson. Lucas was a smart businessman. With the assistance of a cousin serving in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, he took hold of the heroin racket by...

HD DVD Review: Firewall

Matt Paprocki — Mon, 3 Mar 2008 06:50:16 EST

Harrison Ford - bumbling action hero.
Firewall wants to be a modern take on the thriller, adding in fancy technology and tossing in long explanations for how it all works (even though the characters already know). Where it fails is in its generic execution and complete lack of tension. The plot is also ludicrous, and the crooks' plan loaded with sheer stupidity. Harrison Ford is...

HD DVD Review: The Kingdom

Matt Paprocki — Sun, 2 Mar 2008 22:48:16 EST

A gripping, involving tale of shaky international politics and mass murder.
Peter Berg’s take on modern international relations and politics is an absorbing, engrossing, and thrilling piece of filmmaking. The Kingdom takes on well written political intrigue, CSI-style crime drama, and Michael Bay action to complete this fantastic movie. Jamie Foxx leads a strong cast (all with fine performances) to Saudi Arabi. His...

HD DVD Review: Beowulf

Matt Paprocki — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:35:40 EST

While it doesn't offer the 3-D effect at home, this is still exciting to watch.
Based off of an extended poem that nearly everyone has been forced to read at some point in their lives, Robert Zemeckis brings Beowulf to the screen in his unique animated style. The film is engaging, unique, and flawed. The movie also loses its 3-D effects on the small screen, leaving the film somewhat dry.Beowulf is your typical fantasy bad-ass,...

HD DVD Review: The Brave One

Matt Paprocki — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:23:45 EST

A revenge movie with an uninteresting twist that doesn't translate to entertainment.
Instead of the typical vigilante angle, The Brave One uh, bravely, tries something different. While it has the expected scenes of its one-person army, in this case Jodie Foster, leading a crusade against New York’s worst, it’s also a character study of the emotional effects the killings have on her. The perspective of a woman and the...

HD DVD Death Watch, World Waits for Official Toshiba Statement

Matt Paprocki — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:55:53 EST

HD DVD is living its final breaths as retailers ditch the format in favor of Blu-ray.
It’s been quite a ride for fans of the dueling movie formats. HD DVD and Blu-ray managed to spark some unique scenarios, including shutting down AVS Forum’s message boards due to their bantering and spawning “buy days” where format specific users purchased loads of discs for no reason other than to see a pie chat move a bit....

HD DVD Review: The Invasion

Matt Paprocki — Sat, 9 Feb 2008 09:41:15 EST

A vastly underrated update on an old classic.
The world didn’t need a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The original took the concept as far as it was probably going to go. However, if it’s going to happen, it might as well end up like this Nicole Kidman-starring piece. While flawed, there are enough tension and characters to make this an exciting update to an old concept....

What Do You Mean My New HD DVD Won't Play?

Diana Saenger — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:16:30 EST

Should owners of DVD players be expected to update them?
When my young granddaughter was visiting for Christmas, she wanted to play one of my HD DVDs. When a strange error code came up that I had not seen before, I put in a regular DVD for her to watch. After Christmas when I seriously needed to catch up on my DVD reviews, I tried several new titles only to get the same message. Then I noticed a note...

HD DVD Review: Zodiac (2-Disc Director's Cut)

El Bicho — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:49:00 EST

The contest for Best DVD of 2008 has begun with this set.
David Fincher’s Zodiac tells the story of the serial killer who terrorized Northern California in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Based upon the book by Robert Graysmith, a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle at the time who became the unofficial main investigator after the police were stumped, the story offers a fascinating...