Blu-ray Disc accounted for 11% of optical disc sales with a healthy revenue of $21.56M for the week ending February 7th, almost double for the same week last year according to Home Media Magazine.
The big seller this week was Zombieland from Sony Pictures, selling over three times the units of the second placed Michael Jackson’s This Is It, also from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
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Dr Who fans got a real treat this month with the Feb 2nd release of Doctor Who: The Complete Specials from BBC Home Video.
This collection includes four special episodes from David Tennant’s turn as Doctor Who, one of which is split into two parts.
Each hour long special gets its own disc.
The first special in the set is called The Next Doctor, where The Doctor arrives in London in 1851 and finds Continue reading »
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The second dose of Thai martial arts comes with the Magnolia Home Entertainment Blu-ray Ong Bak 2: The Beginning, also released on February 2nd, 2010.
The film is marketed as the prequel to the original Ong-Bak movie, though in reality it is not directly associated in any recognizable way.
It is generally assumed though that the two will be tied together in the third film in the series, which is expected Continue reading »
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February 2nd marked the Blu-ray release of the MGM title To Live and Die in L.A.
This movie plays a lot like an eighties version of The French Connection, and no doubt the film-makers were aiming to repeat the success of that film.
This time around though the characters are are even more flawed and the tone is darker.
The start of the film is somewhat cliched, with the agent who is about to retire Continue reading »
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Blu-ray Cover Art Gallery for the week of the 7th of February 2010 reveals a number of catalog titles from Lionsgate including Arnold in The Running Man, along with fresh titles from Universal in the form of Couples Retreat and A Serious Man.
Maybe someone can get A Serious Man, watch it and explain it to me…!
Warner is also releasing The Time Traveler’s Wife while Magnolia also has a couple Continue reading »
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Some may have been wondering why I have not been writing as much in 2010 and part of the reason is that I have been working on a film project.
The film was made in conjunction with the San Francisco based film makers community called Scary Cow (if you live in the Bay Area and are interested in making films you should check out the website or ask me in comments) and was shot on a fairly good consumer Continue reading »
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Whether we are world travelers or visiting friends across the country, the long down periods on “Trains, Planes, and Automobiles” can be tiring. On plane trips, many fill this gap, by reading a book, chatting with your neighbor, or by watching the pseudo current movie or old episode of The Office on 8 inch screens placed every fourth row. But what if you are not interested in what is “Now Playing”? Even worse, what if the video player is not workingthen what?
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I have found that the best way to ensure that a long trip is rarely boring is to bring a good quality portable DVD player and several movies and possibly some educational programs with me to play on this unit. How does one go about identifying the most cost-effective DVD player? What is truly the best value for the money. Your ability to assess your own needs as well as determine which players have these features for the best price will determine how effective you are at this task.
A few key things to think about are the quality of the image you desire, the screen size, the media you will be playing, and the battery life you will need. The image quality can range from good to excellent as you consider an inexpensive generic DVD player or one of the new portable Blu-ray DVD players. It is given that you will definitely pay a large premium if you purchase a Blu-ray and you will also pay more for every movie you buy. That’s the price you pay for being on the cutting edge of technology.
In the “battle of the screens” the bigger the screen the easier the image is to watch – in general. For this reason if you desire is to get a unit with a screen larger than the more common 7 to 8 inch variety, you will pay a definite premium compared to a similar, smaller model. In addition, compatibility with formats may be important if you have multiple media types such as mp3, mpeg, wav, and other formats. If you do, be sure that this is one of the features you look for in the player you will eventually purchase. Finally, nothing is worse that your battery going dead in the middle of a thriller. Battery life should be on the list of criteria particularly if there is extended travel in your future.
What you watch is as important as what you play it on. Feature length movies are the first thing that comes to mind and I have my favorites. On any trip I will have with me my trusty copy of Saving Private Ryan, and The Graduate, but how many of us know that there is an opportunity to learn as well as entertained?
I have found a wide variety of educational programming designed to stimulate my intellect as I am being entertained. PBS has available complete DVD sets related to everything from the the History of Jazz to our National Parks to genetics. Many of these programs are available in multi-DVD sets and can provide thought-provoking content sufficient to encompass a fifteen hour train ride provided you have the battery power to sustain your player over this period. If you and your wife are interested in swing dancing, why not pick up a few DVDs on the Lindy Hop?
Do you always need to purchase these disks? Not really. You can rent videos at many airports in shops such as InMotion, which lets you pick up and view a disk at one airport and drop it off at another. This is a very important feature for those of us only interested in viewing a movie once. Just remember that this convenience comes at a cost.
In conclusion, making full use of a portable DVD player can really help to fill be gaps between airports or train stations. The beauty of using this technology is that you are limited only by your imagination and taste as to what programming you acquire. Remember that the wise consumer gets the best value by carefully researching the products available and determining what feature are “nice to have” versus “need to have” so that the best unit can be obtained to suit your needs and tastes. There is an almost limitless array of movies and educational DVDs designed to suit all tastes.
To learn more about Portable DVD Players please click on the highlighted link. To read product reviews about Portable DVD Players click the link.
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Some may have been wondering why I have not been writing as much in 2010 and part of the reason is that I have been working on a film project.
The film was made in conjunction with the San Francisco based film makers community called Scary Cow (if you live in the Bay Area and are interested in making films you should check out the website or ask me in comments) and was shot on a fairly good consumer Continue reading »
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This week is a good week for musical fans, with the release of The Music Man on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video, which streeted on February 2nd 2010.
The movie is based on the Music Man Broadway musical from the late fifties what was created by Meredith Willson.
Even though huge musical films had become quite rare, the show was so popular that Warner optioned the rights and made the filmed version.
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Amazon has listed a number of recent 20th Century Fox titles for only $12.37, saving almost 70% off the retail pricing.
Titles in the promotion include Aliens in the Attic, I Love You, Beth Cooper, My Life in Ruins, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and N
fef
ight at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
It is a little unusual to see such recent titles so heavily discounted, Continue reading »
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