“Doctor Who: Dalek War” — A Slice of SciFi DVD Review
March 17, 2010 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
For a variety of reasons, releases of Jon Pertwee era “Doctor Who” stories have been few and far between of late. Part of this is due to the fact that many of the remaining stories require a lot of work to get up to DVD standards. But with the end in sight for the release of classic “Doctor Who” on DVD, it appears the dam may be getting ready to burst when it comes to the third Doctor’s era getting equal representation on DVD.
That is certainly the case of the United States where we’ll get at least four Pertwee stories in the first several months of 2010. Later this year, we’ll get the “Peladon” stories and earlier this month saw the U.S. release of the Dalek War box set.
“Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks (Special Edition)” — A Slice of SciFi DVD Review
March 17, 2010 || Category: DVD Reviews | 2 Comments
Produced as the kick-off to the 25th anniversary season, Sylvester McCoy’s “Remembrance of the Daleks” was one of the first classic “Doctor Who” serials to hit DVD–and one of the most problematic. Copy right issues kept the DVD release from using certain musical cues within the program and there were issues with some of the effects sequences in the initial releases. Also as one of the first in the range, the extras were a tad bit lacking in comparison to what we get today, consisting of just a commentary and a few cut scenes.
“Doctor Who: The Complete Specials” — A Slice of SciFi DVD Review
February 2, 2010 || Category: DVD Reviews | 1 Comment
Fans still coming to grips with the departure of David Tennant as the 10th Doctor may find some consolation in the latest box set from BBC America featuring all five of the just-completed run of “Doctor Who” specials. With four of the five filmed and shown in HD, fans who have a Blu-Ray player can enjoy the stunning visuals in all their HD glory, including a newly upgraded version of “The Next Doctor” for the Blu-Ray release.
Russo Review: “Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side”
January 4, 2010 || Category: DVD Reviews | 2 Comments
Seth McFarlane brings his trademark humor to the Star Wars universe yet again, but like most sequels, the second trip to the well doesn’t bring back the results audiences were hoping for.
This time McFarlane pokes fun at what many fans of the Star Wars universe consider the Holy Grail of the franchise, The Empire Strikes Back. Perhaps it is the strength of Empire itself, or that tired feeling of been there, done that left over from “Blue Harvest”, regardless “Something, Something, Something Dark Side” doesn’t roll out the laughs like it should.
“Farscape: The Complete Series” — A Slice of SciFi DVD Review
December 17, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 7 Comments
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi Editor)
Actors: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Lani John Tupu, Gigi Edgley
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Seasons 1-3)
Number of discs: 25
MPAA Rating: NR
Studio: A&E Home Video
DVD Release Date: November 17 2009
Slice of SciFi Rating: 5 out of 5
The box set fans have been [...]
Russo Review — “Inglorious Basterds” Blu Ray
December 17, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
Years in the making, Quentin Tarantino’s World War II epic, Inglorious Basterds, ranks as one of the eclectic auteur’s best works, and his most profitable yet. Starring Brad Pitt as the uproarious Lieutenant Aldo Raine, Inglorious Basterds is as entertaining as it is powerful, featuring fantastical elements that give off the cathartic release that many felt missing from the second great war’s actual finale.
If the concept of super-spy guinea pigs seems juvenile to you, there’s a reason. Special Effects guru turned writer/director Hoyt Yeatman may have penned the screenplay and brought G-Force to life under the supervision of one of Hollywood’s most successful producers, Jerry Bruckheimer, but the inspiration for the flaccid action comedy came from none other than Yeatman’s prepubescent son.
“Doctor Who: The Black Guardian Trilogy” — A Slice of SciFi DVD Review
December 8, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
For the 20th season of “Doctor Who,” producer John Nathan Turner wanted each storyline to feature a callback to the past of the show, whether it be a returning villain or monster or a familar face or two coming back across the Doctor’s path. In addition, Nathan-Turner wanted a new face to join the TARDIS crew–a school boy with a mysterious past and possibly an alien heritage.
“Lost” Season 5 Blu Ray — A Russo Review
December 7, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
The survivors of the Oceanic Flight 815 are back for a fifth season on DVD and BluRay and once again Buena Vista Home Entertainment has outdone themselves with an outstanding set for one of the best shows on television. A five-disc collection, packed with phenomenal audio and visuals and a girth of extra features, Lost Season 5 is the perfect holiday present for the TV obsessed nut in your family.
Reviewed by: Joe Russo (Filmmaker & SoSF Film Critic)
Director: JJ Abrams
Writers: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Actors: Leonard Nimoy, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Karl Urban, Bruce Greenwood, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho & Anton Yelchin
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: November 17, 2009
Russo Rating = 9 out of 10 Stars
“The DVD set goes in depth on [...]
“Ice Age 3,” “Wrong Turn 3″ — Russo DVD, Blu Ray Reviews
November 5, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 1 Comment
Reviewed by: Joe Russo (Filmmaker & SoSF Movie Critic)
If you enjoy subjecting your youngsters to mindless entertainment, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a safe bet.
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Russo Rating: 5/10
While the Ice Age series has never been known for classy storylines, the third installment, Dawn of the Dinosaurs took [...]
“Battlestar Galactica: The Plan” DVD — A Slice of SciFi Review
October 26, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 13 Comments
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi Editor)
Actors: Edward James Olmos, Dean Stockwell, Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Studio: Universal
DVD Release Date: October 27, 2009
Run Time: 95 minutes
Slice of SciFi Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0
A must-see for “Battlestar Galactica” [...]
“Snow White” Diamond Edition BluRay — A Russo Review
October 5, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
Reviewed by: Joe Russo (Filmmaker & SoSF Film Critic)
Director: David Hand
Producer: Walt Disney
Original Film Debut Date: 1937
Voice Actors: Adriana Caselotti, Roy Atwell, Eddie Collins,
Pinto Colvig, Billy Gilbert, Otis Harlan, Lucille LaVerne, Scotty Mattraw & Moroni Olsen
Diamond Edition Blu-ray/DVD Release Date: October 6, 2009
“Revolutionizing the medium, Snow White is one of Disney’s most memorable and [...]
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”/Vol 3&4 — A Russo DVD/Blu-ray Review
September 18, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
Reviewed by: Joe Russo (Filmmaker & SoSF Movie Critic)
Director: Gavin Hood
Writers: David Benioff & Skip Woods
Actors: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins & Dominic Monaghan
MPAA Rating: PG-13
“While X-Men Origins: Wolverine certainly disappointed the legions of Marvel fans out there, the Hugh Jackman action vehicle fared well at the box office….”
Twentieth Century [...]
“Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahl” — A Slice of SciFi DVD Review
September 10, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 3 Comments
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi Editor)
Actors: Tom Baker, Louise Jameson
Format: Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC, Color
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Release Date: Sep 1 2009
Run Time: 95 minutes
Slice of SciFi Rating: 4 out of 5
An overlooked classic
Before he went on to produce and write many of [...]
“Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen” — A Slice of SciFi DVD Review
August 31, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 1 Comment
Review by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi Editor)
Actors: Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford
Directors: Chris Clough
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Video / Warner Bros.
DVD Release Date: September 1, 2009
Run Time: 73 minutes
Slice of SciFi Rating: 1 out 5.
“Delta and [...]
“Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin” — A Slice of SciFi DVD Review
August 27, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 1 Comment
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi News Editor)
Actors: Tom Baker
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 1
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Release Date: September 1, 2009
Run Time: 94 minutes
A classic that earns the distinction and is a crossroads for classic “Who”
Robert Holmes’ 1976 masterpiece “The Deadly [...]
“I Love You, Man” — A Russo DVD/Blu-ray Review (I know it’s not Sci-Fi, but hear me out)
August 12, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 2 Comments
Reviewed by: Joe Russo (SoSF Film Reviewer)
Director: John Hamburg
Writers: John Hamburg & Larry Levin
Producers: Anders Bard, Jeffrey Clifford, Donald De Line,
Andrew Haas, John Hamburg, Bill Johnson, Tom Pollock & Ivan Reitman
Actors: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones (& a whole host of SNL alum)
Russo Rating = 8 out of 10 Stars
”
Why should a Sci-Fi fan, [...]
“Race to Witch Mountain” — A Russo DVD/Blu-ray Review
August 7, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
Reviewed by: Joe Russo (SoSF Guest Fim Reviewer)
Russo Review Rating = 6 Stars out of 10
“Identity crises and mediocre special effects aside, the performances are what carry Race to Witch Mountain.”
There is no doubt about it; Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a movie star. And the physically imposing actor’s star shines the brightest when he [...]
“Echelon Conspiracy” — A Russo DVD/Blu-ray Review
August 4, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 1 Comment
em>Reviewed by: Joe Russo (SoSF Film Reviewer)
Director: Greg Marcks
Writers: Michael Nitsberg & Kevin Elders
Actors: Shane West, Edward Burns, Ving Rhames, Martin Sheen, Yuriy Kutsenko, Sergey Gubanov, Steven Elder, Sandra De Sousa & Greg Donaldson
Russo rating = 6 Stars out of 10 Stars
“Directed by young, up-and-coming filmmaker Greg Marcks, Echelon Conspiracy not only boasts [...]
“Torchwood: Children of Earth” — A Slice of SciFi DVD and Blu Ray Review
August 3, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 2 Comments
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi News Editor)
Actors: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Peter Capaldi, Paul Copley
Directors: Euros Lynn
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 2
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Release Date: [...]
“Doctor Who: The Planet of the Dead” — A Slice of SciFi DVD and Blu-Ray Review
August 3, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi Editor)
Actors: David Tennant, Michelle Ryan
Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
Run Time: 60 minutes
Had it been part [...]
Dollhouse - DVD/Blu-ray — A Russo mini-Review
July 28, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
Reviewed by: Joe Russo (SoSF Contributing Reviewer)
Russo Review Rating = 7 out of 10 Stars
“Never one to make cookie-cutter television, Whedon’s Dollhouse is certainly not of the norm.”
From the mastermind behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, Dollhouse is Joss Whedon’s latest television achievement, and the ambitious science fiction program has his loyal followers [...]
Russo Review — “Transfomers,” “G.I. Joe” Season One DVDs
July 2, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 1 Comment
Written by: Joe Russo (Film Critic/SoSF Contributor)
Russo Ratings: Transformers Season One 8/10, GI Joe Season One 8/10
Collecting nearly 230 million in a week, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has put Paramount in the drivers seat as far as which studio will rule the summer box office. With another Hasbro toy line waiting to make it’s [...]
Written by: Joe Russo (Film Critic/SoSF Contributor)
Russo Ratings: Part II - 3/10
Part III - 4/10
Part IV - 7/10
Part V - 2/10
Part VI -4/10
Accompanying the release of the Michael Bay produced, 2009 remake, Paramount Home Entertainment has decided to re-release a handful of the classic Friday the 13th titles, some for the first time on BluRay, [...]
Russo Review: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
June 16, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 2 Comments
Written by: Joe Russo (Film Critic/SoSF Contributor)
Russo Rating: 2/10
Fails in all the same ways as the nightmarish 1994 adaptation
During the era of comic book movies done right, it is only in a geek’s best interest to hope that someday movie studios will hit audiences with an awesome videogame adaptation. What looked like an [...]
Written by: Joe Russo (Film Critic/SoSF Contributor)
Hot on the heels of the franchise’s biggest opening weekend ever at the box office, Paramount Home Entertainment has decided to hit consumers salivating for more Kirk and Spock with a nice helping of nostalgic Star Trek.
Hoping to please long time fans of the series, and new Trekkies converted [...]
Russo Review — “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Blu Ray and DVD
May 11, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
Written by: Joe Russo (Film Critic/SoSF Contributor)
Russo Rating: 9 out of 10
A must own high definition release.
Some people might argue that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is David Fincher’s masterwork. I say Fight Club still holds that title. Heck, even Seven is a better movie. That being said though, that doesn’t mean that this [...]
“Doctor Who: Battlefield” — A Slice of SciFi DVD Review
May 6, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | 1 Comment
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Farpoint Media News Director)
Actors: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Jean Marsh, Nicholas Courtney
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 2
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Release Date: May 5, 2009
Run Time: 95 minutes
Slice of SciFi Rating: 3.0 out of [...]
Russo Review — “X-Men Animated Series,” “X-Men Trilogy”
May 6, 2009 || Category: DVD Reviews | Leave a Comment
Written by: Joe Russo (Film Critic/SoSF Contributor)
With Fox’s summer tent pole, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, multiple studios are gearing up to unleash new X-content on DVD and BluRay. Here’s a look at some of the exciting new products to help whet your Wolverine whistle:
X-Men: The Animated Series, Volume 1 and 2
Russo Rating: 8/10
I grew up on [...]
