Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - (Page 24) Edited by John Latchem REVIEWS BLU-RAY SPOTLIGHT I PRISON BREAK: SEASON THREE Fox, Drama, four-disc set $49.98 DVD, $79.98 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, William Fichtner. www.homemediamagazine.com A fter skipping putting season two on Blu-ray, Fox has released the writers strike-truncated third season of “Prison Break” in high-def. Following an escape in season two, the third season puts many of the colorful characters into a grimy Panama prison in the middle of a desert. Unfortunately, the show has about worn out its welcome. The concept was stretched for the second season, and it’s hard to imagine producers pushing it much longer (although the fourth season is currently on the air). The 50GB discs look great. My only complaint is that the show looks a bit overexposed in some of the outdoor scenes in the bright Texas sun (subbing for Panama). That’s more a show issue, since the overexposure was likely a director’s decision. The DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless Audio is superb. The music drives the action forward and the show makes full use of home entertainment surround sound. In the extras department, Fox did such a great job going behind-the-scenes with the first season of “Prison Break” that this new set seems very short-changed. None of the extras are exclusive to Blu-ray, and there’s not a single commentary on any episode. The four featurettes are spread across the four discs. – John Gaudiosi I INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL Street 10/14 Paramount, Adventure, B.O. $316.8 million, $29.99 DVD, $34.99 two-DVD set, $39.99 Blu-ray, ‘PG-13’ for adventure violence and scary images. Stars Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent. T he nostalgia trip that is the fourth film in the legendary “Indiana Jones” canon offers a clever repackaging of something familiar. But 19 years after the previous movie, one can’t help but feel a tinge of regret at the potential adventures that passed by the wayside in the interim. Instead, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull plays somewhat like one of those reunion movies that reunites the cast of an old TV show in an attempt to rekindle fans’ warm feelings for a classic. So it comes as no surprise that many “Indiana Jones” fans considered the film a disappointment. This film is as much about the regrets of lost time as it is the search for knowledge. For the audience, the real treasure is one last adventure with an old friend. There remains a certain comfort in revisiting the formula, although the main plot device strays a bit away from the usual spiritual quests for which Indiana Jones is best known. And, the movie seems to forget the focal point of the quest as it wraps everything up. The climax is wholly unique from the other films in the series, which some may find unsatisfying unless one considers it may be as close as we get to a crossover between Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford’s other legendary character, Han Solo. For hardcore fans, the two-DVD special edition (or the Blu-ray) is an overload of making-of footage, covering everything from make-up to music to production design. Will knowing these tidbits give the film any more credibility? Probably not. The genesis of the story is covered in good detail in the featurette “The Return of a Legend,” which is included with the single-disc edition. Those who enjoyed the film but usually don’t delve into extras should still enjoy this brief glimpse behind the scenes. It includes a funny bit in which the writers and producers discuss potential titles and a few fake ones. Those who were waiting for home video to see the movie should be warned not to watch the extras before seeing the film. They are loaded with spoilers. – John Latchem I CAPRICORN ONE: SPECIAL EDITION Street 10/14 Lionsgate, Thriller, $19.98 DVD, ‘PG.’ Stars Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro, Sam Waterston, O.J. Simpson, Hal Holbrook, Karen Black, Telly Savalas. T 24 his 1978 film revolves around the launch of a manned mission to Mars. As the countdown approaches zero, the astronauts are pulled out of the rocket at the last moment and whisked to a secret facility. The head of NASA (Holbrook) gives them a big speech about offering the nation something to believe in, and convinces them to participate in a hoax to fake the Mars landing. After several months of the astronauts hiding out, the hoax is complicated when the empty capsule burns up on re-entry. Realizing that they must die for the hoax to work, the trio of astronauts escape into the desert, chased by a pair of black helicopters. In the meantime a reporter (Gould) uncovers clues that could unravel the conspiracy. The story was inspired by various unfounded conspiracy theories involving the government faking the moon landings. This new DVD includes a brief featurette about how people have grown to distrust the government. The main marketing hook behind releasing a 30th anniversary edition of this film seems to be that one of the astronauts is played by O.J. Simpson, currently on trial for robbery. Capricorn One is a decent thriller that holds up as an allegory for government cover-ups, even if the execution is a bit hokey and the set-up is somewhat dated. In his commentary director Peter Hyams continually makes a big deal about re-creating the spacecraft used in the Apollo moon missions, which is fine, but it just isn’t realistic in the context of Mars. Hyams does at least explain it away as a creative choice to build familiarity of the technology with the audience, letting him focus on the story. – John Latchem Home Media Magazine October 5–11, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 Contents News TV DVD Gay/Lesbian Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 29) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 30) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 31) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 32) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 33) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 34) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 35) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 36) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 37) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 38) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 39) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 40) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
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