Colin Firth reaches Fever Pitch with Ruth Gemmell on DVD...
Colin Firth and Ruth Gemmell wage the war of the battle of the
sexes in the football-themed comedy
Fever Pitch,
which is online and out on DVD now.
The time has come for Gormenghast on BBC2, video and DVD...
Bush, arcane, big and beautiful: the ingenious fantasy of Gormenghast headlines
BBC2's £62 million winter season of programmes.
One of the most creatively ambitious projects ever undertaken by any
television company, this epic adaptation of Mervyn Peake's novel Gormenghast
features a stellar cast including Ian Richardson, Christopher Lee, Zoe
Wanamaker, Stephen Fry, John Sessions, Richard Griffiths, Warren Mitchell, June
Brown and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the evil but charming Steerpike.
Jane Root says: "It is a stunning dramatisation of one of the 20th Century's
most extraordinary novels, you won't see anything else like it on television.
Weird, wild and truly grand in scale, ingenious fantasy marries all action
comedy in one of the biggest projects we have ever undertaken. It is ambitious
in every sense: aspiring, inspired, challenging and beautiful."
Gormenghast runs for 240 minutes in total and reaches the following
shores on the following dates :
BBC2, Monday January 17th, 9pm (in series form, not all at once)
Video: February 7th, £19.99
DVD: April 3rd, price TBC.
Ewan McGregor and Vivian Wu star in Peter Greenaway's bizarre
tale of body painting and secret diaries in
The Pillow Book,
which is online and out on DVD now.
Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds star as the lovers who may or may
not get it together after seven years apart in the BBC's 1995 film,
Jane Austen's Persuasion,
which is online and out on DVD now.
Lara rides again in Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation on PC CD-ROM and Playstation...
Not once, twice or thrice, but it's now four times that Lara Croft has
ventured forth onto your computer or console. Does this latest incarnation
have what it takes to go the distance ?
James Stewart puts others before himself, ends up on Stress Farm and
gets ready to call it a day permanently in this happy family film also
featuring Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore.
It's a Wonderful Life,
is my Xmas Day review online and is out on DVD now.
Hope you all have a Happy Xmas and that you get the Dolby Digital amplifier
I wish I was getting...
First look: 2 Ghostbusters, 1 Sarah Michelle Gellar, 1 Flashing Blade and a George Michael in an outside toilet...
Thanks to Sue Foster on behalf of Sony Music for the review copy I've received
for
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael: 23 top pop videos
from one of the biggest talents around, or is that just the talent he waved
about in a public lavatory ?
Either way, the promos appear in a variety of ratios and the tracks include
Outside, Fastlove, I Want Your Sex, Careless Whisper, duets with
Toby Bourke, Elton John, Queen, Aretha Franklin and a few selections
from MTV Unplugged.
To top it off, it includes the 1998 interview on Parkinson in full, shortly
after he came out.
Thanks to Julian Sheldon on behalf of Columbia for the review copies I've received for :
Ghostbusters: The original film and still the best with a ratio of
2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio commentary, storyboard
split-screen comparison, Still storyboards, SFX Before and After, Photo
Gallery, Featurette and Interviews, Deleted scenes and trailers.
Ghostbusters 2: They're back for the sequel. 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1, trailer and filmographies.
The Mask of Zorro: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1,
Director's commentary, 60-minute "Unmasking Zorro" documentary, alternate
ending, music video, trailer, photo gallery, filmographies.
Cruel Intentions: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1,
Director/Producer commentary, 5 deleted scenes, 2 music videos, featurette,
trailer, filmographies.
Noddy and Big Ears make their DVD debut in three episodes of
Noddy in Toyland,
which is online and out on DVD now.
John Carpenter and Bruce Lee on DVD next year...
Well, not in the same film, but as per a press release I've received from
The Associates, there's some interesting DVDs on the horizon for the new year :
January 17th : Dark Star: John Carpenter sci-fi classic in its 1.85:1 widescreen ratio
and for £17.99 (also for £12.99 on video).
February 7th : Cinema of Vengeance: A 90-minute compliation of the "best introduction
to the 'chop sockey' genre ever released" featuring footage of Bruce Lee,
Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat. Price: £19.99
Death By Misadventure: 91 minutes of what happens "When Martial
Arts Go Wrong" including the story behind Bruce & Brandon Lee. Price: £19.99
P.O. Box Tinto Brass: A sensational collection of real-life
sexual fantasies. Price: £17.99
The Voyeur: More Tinto Brass eroticism for a price of £17.99
Goodbye to the Digital Telly Tax and ONdigital's magazine...
Just added to my
ONdigital set-top box,
review is the news that the £24 digital telly-tax and the ONdigital
subscription magazine are both on their way out...
The Five Doctors land on DVD. Do not exterminate...
Peter Davison, Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and Richard
Hurndall (replacing William Hartnell) join forces against evil
and all that in a Dolby Digital-tastic remastered version of
The Five Doctors,
which is online and out on DVD now.
Stuck for something to do this weekend? Live in the Manchester area? The list
of the films showing at
Manchester Showcase Cinema
can be found on this page.
This week's new films are : Dogma, Blue Streak, Mystery Men
and Muppets from Space.
Rowan Atkinson, Tim McInerry, Tony Robinson and Brian Blessed
star in the first series of
The Black Adder,
which is online and out on DVD now.
First look: Scum, Maurice, Ricky Martin & James Taylor...
Thanks to Amanda Evans on behalf of Odyssey for the review copies I've received for :
Scum: 4:3 open-matte fullscreen, trailer, Interviews with Clive Parsons
(co-producer) and Roy Minton (writer)
Maurice: 1.66:1 widescreen, Featurette celebrating the Merchant
Ivory 30th Anniversary, Trailer, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound
Each contain a booklet giving production notes and biographies.
Thanks to Sue Foster on behalf of Sony Music for the review copies I've received
for :
Ricky Martin: Video Collection: 4:3 fullscreen with Dolby Digital 5.1
sound for 40 minutes of songs including Livin' La Vida Loca, Maria & The Cup
Of Life. A 15-minute piece with Ricky Martin explaining the background to his current,
self-titled album is also included.
James Taylor: Live at the Beacon Theatre: 4:3 fullscreen with Dolby Digital 5.1
sound again, with 110 minutes of concert footage from May 30th, 1998 and featuring classics
such as Fire and Rain and You've Got a Friend. Lyrics are included in English
and French, a couple of promo videos, interviews, discography and biography.
Desmond Llewelyn R.I.P.
Taken from yahoo:
Desmond Llewelyn, the veteran actor who played gadgetry expert Q in a
string of James Bond films, died in a car crash Sunday, police said.
Llewelyn, 85, was on his way home from a book-signing in East Sussex,
south of London, when his car hit another head-on. "It was a head-on
collision near Firle in East Sussex at about 2 p.m. GMT and Mr. Llewelyn
suffered massive multiple injuries," a Sussex police spokeswoman told
Reuters.
"He was airlifted from the scene and, along with two others, was taken
to hospital where he died at 1710 GMT."
Llewelyn, from Sussex, was alone in his car. The two others involved in
the accident, a 35-year-old man and his female companion, were still in
hospital with minor injuries.
"Weather wasn't a factor in the accident," the spokeswoman said,
declining further comment on what might have caused the accident.
New DVDs out this week
Bound (19.99, Fox)
Pi (19.99, Fox)
Showgirls (19.99, Fox)
The Xmas Top 40...
will follow tomorrow as I didn't have chance to compile it today.
Enter the Nomad Soul with David Bowie on PC CD-ROM...
You take over the body of Kay'l in a parallel universe that really needs your
help, but can you figure out what to do and do it as soon as is required?
The game features an appearance from David Bowie as well as eight
tracks from his latest album, "..hours".
The review of The Nomad Soul,
is online and out on PC CD-ROM now.
First Look: It's a Wonderful Life & Lock Stock: Director's Cut on DVD...
Thanks to Susie from Universal for the review copies I've received for :
It's a Wonderful Life: 4:3 fullscreen, as filmed, Featurette about the
film introduced by Happy Days' Tom Bosley and an interview
introduced by Frank Capra Jr featuring chat from Frank Capra &
Jimmy Stewart.
Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels: Contains an extra 13 minutes
footage and is presented in an anamorphic 16:9 ratio (so slightly less than
the theatrical version DVD's 1.85:1 ratio) and includes a trailer, plus
the booklet containing biographies, but does not include the interviews found
on the original DVD.
Stuck for something to do this weekend? Live in the Manchester area? The list
of the films showing at
Manchester Showcase Cinema
can be found on this page.
This week's new films are : Iron Giant, Inspector Gadget, Anna and the King
and Cotton Mary.
Well, they did on Friday night and I went to their concert in the M.E.N. (Manchester
Evening News) Arena, formerly known as the Nynex Arena, which was excellent
and featured seven songs from their latest album, Nightlife, which has
a very ambient feel and I recommend it wholeheartedly, including For Your
Own Good, which opened the gig, plus I Don't Know What You Want But I
Can't Give It Any More, Happiness is an Option, Vampires, New York City Boy,
Footsteps and an acoustic version of their January 2000 single, You
Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk.
I last saw the Pet Shop Boys on their 1989 tour at the Birmingham NEC which
was more of a theatrical experience and featured several short films created
exclusively by the late director Derek Jarman. The new backdrops which appeared
behind every song, had some that were more specific than others but each played
their part and the only time we saw an actual promo video was when selected
clips of What Have I Done To Deserve This ? were played as Neil sang
the duet with the late Dusty Springfield.
Other tunes played throughout the two-hour concert included West End Girls,
Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money), It's a Sin, Young Offender, Being
Boring, Only The Wind, Se A Vida E (That's The Way Life Is),
It's Alright and a rousing finale of Go West.
The only thing that played a partial downer on the gig was that within four
songs, a number of people including the rows around us walked out and never
returned - quite odd considering they'd paid at least £25 per ticket
(and mine were closer to £30 each after you add the booking fee and
P&P). However, this wasn't such a bad thing as it meant we could move about
more and do our best to avoid the tall people in front obscuring the stage,
plus it got rid of one particularly annoying bottle blonde bimbo who just
wouldn't shut up!
And yes, they did wear THOSE wigs, but for the first half only.
Ben Dover checks out the Little Smart Arses on DVD...
Ben Dover takes Zoe, Charlotte, Nancy & Sue up the arsenal
in
Ben Dover: Little Smart Arses,
which is online and out on DVD now.
First look: Heat and Dust, Howards End, California Man & Blade Runner: Director's Cut...
Thanks to Amanda Evans on behalf of Odyssey for the review copies I've received for :
Howard's End: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, Featurettes (one for the film and one celebrating the Merchant Ivory 30th Anniversary), Interviews,
Trailer, Behind-the-scenes, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound
Heat and Dust: 1.66:1 widescreen, Featurette celebrating the Merchant Ivory 30th Anniversary, Trailer, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound
Thanks to Steven Pearson on behalf of Warner for the review copies I've received
for :
Blade Runner: Director's Cut: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen but no extras
California Man: 1.70:1 widescreen but no extras
New DVDs out this week
Arlington Road (17.99, Universal)
Cruel Intentions (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
The Flintstones (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
George Michael: Ladies And Gentlemen - The Best Of.. (19.99, SMV)
Heavy Metal (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
It's a Wonderful Life (17.99, Universal)
Life is Beautiful (15.99 sub, Buena Vista)
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels DC (19.99, Universal)
I've just received confirmation from Fiona Ball at Sony that this DVD, which
has been put back in the schedules a few times, is now set for a release
in "early 2000" along with Mariah Carey's "#1s".
The features still due to be included are :
New Hi-definition film transfer of the complete motion picture from the
original widescreen interpositive
Previously unreleased film footage
Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack direct from the original master
tapes
25-minute documentary: The Other Side of the Wall
Audio commentary from Roger Waters & Gerald Scarfe
Retrospective: an exclusive 45-minute documentary of interviews with
Roger Waters, Gerald Scarfe, Alan Parker, Peter Biziou, Alan Marshall &
James Guthrie.
Original film trailer and production stills
Newly-designed interactive menus
Subtitled, scene/song selection and secret buttons
Subtitles: English, Japanese, French, Italian and Spanish
Sega Dreamcast sales top half-a-million and now you can order a pizza too...
OVER 500,000 DREAMCAST SOLD IN EUROPE IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS.
SALES OF HARDWARE, SOFTWARE AND PERIPHERALS ACROSS EUROPE CONTINUE TO BREAK RECORDS
Over 150,000 Internet registrations
Dreamcast, the most powerful video games console ever created, continues to
break all previous games console records. Dreamcast has sold over 500,000
units across Europe in less than two months, confirming its position as the
fastest selling games console ever.
Since its launch on October 14 1999, sales of Dreamcast, SEGA software and
peripherals have generated over EUR225,000,000 retail value.
In addition, there have been over 150,000 on-line registrations, with 40% of
customers using Dreamcast's on-line capability.
Dreamcast's phenomenal success has been supported by the release of forty
games titles, including best-sellers Sonic Adventure, Sega Rally 2, Ready 2
Rumble and Soul Calibur.
JF Cecillon, Chief Executive Officer, SEGA Europe, said:
"We're very excited about the phenomenal sales figures announced today and
are looking forward to a strong Christmas period. Dreamcast is the first
console with evolutionary capabilities. The console will continue to grow
and change to match advances in technology, allowing it to further its
development as a multi-purpose platform. The next generation console has
arrived and everyone at Sega Europe is proud to be part of it."
Fernhart New Media announces another first for Domino's Pizza - order a
pizza through Sega Dreamcast
Eating pizza has never been so much fun!
London, 7th December 1999 - Fernhart New Media, the pioneering Internet
design and e-commerce application development company, has today announced
the availability of Europe's first ever pizza delivery service through a
games console. Domino's Pizza, using the Sega Dreamcast as a medium, now
offers the world's first Internet and interactive pizza delivery service.
Hungry game players can simply activate their Dreamcast Internet connection,
go to the Domino's site and follow the simple online ordering instructions.
Then its back to the games until the pizza arrives around 30 minutes later.
Because the Dreamcast offers full Internet capability, Domino's customers
are presented with the menu of their nearest store, with all the menu items
and ordering times available, just as they would if they ordered on the
Internet or telephone. For media with less functionality, a scaled-down
version of the interactive ordering service has to be created providing
generic menu items and generic ordering times.
"Fernhart New Media is more than a web design or development agency - it is
an interactive commerce partner," commented Daren Forsyth, Managing Director
of Fernhart New Media. "The company is one of only a handful of companies in
the UK experienced and proven in multi-platform e-commerce deployment. With
each exciting new vision, as the Dreamcast was just a few months ago, we
have a challenge to be the first to provide practical and popular services
that complement it. We will therefore be looking to create a specific
Dreamcast version of the popular Domino's site within the next few months to
make ordering food using the Dreamcast as streamlined and fast as the games
people are playing."
"This is a very convenient way for our customers to place orders, and one
that we hope will rise in popularity massively over the next few months,"
explains Domino's Marketing Director, Chris Moore. "Once the order is
placed, we establish which of our national outlets is nearest to the
customer and the details are faxed through to them."
About Fernhart New Media
Fernhart New Media is one of the most impressive New Media and web design
agencies to date. Combining classic design skills, fresh ideas, in-depth
technical knowledge and strong marketing skills enables Fernhart to put
together solutions that are not only highly attractive to the owner and
customer alike, but also deliver real business benefits.
Working in partnership with clients, through all stages of their projects,
Fernhart provides advice and expertise from the initial concept stage,
through strategic planning, design, development and build, to site
management and promotion. These specialist skills are complemented by the
strategic partnerships forged with other new media, marketing and PR
companies, enabling Fernhart to offer total solutions, without compromising
on the quality of any service provided. Clients enjoying the added value
Fernhart offer include Virgin Radio, Granada Media Group, ITV & Bonhams Fine
Art Auctioneers. www.fernhart.com
Having received the press release shortly after its release date, a copy
of Kingpin has arrived. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Randy
Quaid and the gorgeous Vanessa Angel (spot the stage name :)
who appeared in the TV series of the film Weird Science. The film was
directed by the Farrelly Brothers (There's Something About Mary).
The good news is that although it has the cheaper price of £15.99,
it is anamorphic but the ratio is 16:9 as stated on the box, not the original
theatrical ratio of 2.35:1. I think the film was shot with Super-35 so it may
not look as bad as a typical pan-and-scan film would.
Also, Entertainment in Video have dropped another clanger. It's ProLogic!
The DVD also contains a brief trailer and 3-minute "making of".
Updated cinema listings...
Stuck for something to do this weekend? Live in the Manchester area? The list
of the films showing at
Manchester Showcase Cinema
can be found on this page.
This week's new films are : October Sky, The Muse, The Last Yellow, Walk on the Moon
and End of Days.
Chow Yun-Fat returns as The God of Gamblers on DVD...
Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung and the gorgeous Chingmy Yau star
in the action-comedy sequel
Return of the God of Gamblers,
which is online and out on DVD now.
First Look: What Dreams May Come, The Gingerbread Man and Plunkett & Maclaine on DVD...
Thanks to Susie from Universal for the review copies I received yesterday for :
Plunkett and Maclaine: 2.35:1 widescreen, Featurette, Interviews, Trailer
What Dreams May Come: 2.35:1 widescreen, Featurette inc. Interviews, Trailer
The Gingerbread Man: 1.85:1 widescreen
All titles are anamorphic, contain plush booklets featuring biographies in
English and one or two other languages, depending on the title, and feature
Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The last two are out now, but Plunkett and
Maclaine is released this Monday.
Thanks to Liz from DSA for the review copy I received yesterday for
Judge Dredd. A review will follow in due course, but in brief,
it's not anamorphic, but it does come in its full widescreen 2.35:1 ratio,
has Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and comes complete with a trailer and 20-minute
making of feature.
New DVD releases...
There's a number of changes in the DVD list online, as some have shifted
dates and others have been added to the release date list (no extra details for
the additions yet though).
Stuck for something to do this weekend? Live in the Manchester area? The list
of the films showing at
Manchester Showcase Cinema
can be found on this page.
This week's new films are : Guest House Paradiso, Secret Laughter of Women, Anywhere But Here,
plus re-releases for Star Wars I, Deep Blue Sea and Doug's 1st Movie.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Ghostbusters: The original film and still the best with a ratio of
2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio commentary, storyboard
split-screen comparison, Still storyboards, SFX Before and After, Photo
Gallery, Featurette and Interviews, Deleted scenes and trailers.
Well, they did on Friday night and I went to their concert in the M.E.N. (Manchester
Evening News) Arena, formerly known as the Nynex Arena, which was excellent
and featured seven songs from their latest album, Nightlife, which has
a very ambient feel and I recommend it wholeheartedly, including For Your
Own Good, which opened the gig, plus I Don't Know What You Want But I
Can't Give It Any More, Happiness is an Option, Vampires, New York City Boy,
Footsteps and an acoustic version of their January 2000 single, You
Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk.
