I’ll start off by saying I don’t like Angelina Jolie. I am straight, but apart from her rockin’ boobs, she’s just too skinny. I would have preferred anyone of the other Lara models play Lara. Secondly, I was only semi-fan of the Tomb Raider games. They were truly monumental. This movie too is monumental, despite starring Jolie, due to the fact it was the first movie based on a video game that met with any measure of success (excluding The Last Starfighter). If Oscars were handed out for boob shots, this movie would have swept the awards. But alas, the days of Ass : the Movie are far off and we are left with this gem.

The picture was what you would expect - a nice 1080 picture. Production quality was high and it pad off in spades with beautiful lighting and colors, and great shots of Jolie’s boobs. Please don’t be offended by my comments about her boobs. The director clearly wanted to utilize this asset of Jolie. Also, in the game Lara’s boobs are quite prominent. (Gamers like boobs). In any event, I have no complaints about the video quality - just no wow factor.

HD DVD video quality for me will pretty much be compared to Transformers and Batman Begins for new releases and Grand Prix for older releases. For dramas with less action the comparison is made to Unforgiven. So far I think thos movies are tops with image quality. While Tomb Raider had some sex appeal, image quality/production is not on par with Batman Begins or Transformers.

As for the sound, the DTS mix was acceptable. I would have preferred more environmental audio like in transformers, or even unforgiven. But alas, this movie was focused on boobs.

The extras were forgettable.

ILHDDVD Rating: 3/5 (fun)
Video/Image: 3/5 (Just fine, but no wow)
Audio: 3/5 (Could have used more environmental expansion via audio)
recommended

Ron Howard’s breakout mega-film of the early 90’s. A huge hit in the theatres, you would think a movie about big fires would translate well into HD … and it does. Like all our reviews, we skip the plot reviews because we want to know whether you should buy this movie in HD DVD or just use an upconverted SD DVD. I don’t want to dote on character development (which is heavy in this movie) becasue it matters not to the HD quality. So, in short, this Universal release is a very cool movie about Chicago firemen as told through the voice of two firefighting brothers. Firefighters are unique civil servants in that they lack authority some other civil servants possess. This makes a firefighter a true hero. Obviously, then, Backdraft asserts itself as a tribute to these unique heroes.

Having watched many recently produced movies on HD DVD and many movies produced more than 20 years ago movies on HD DVD I am beginning to see a major difference in the pre-effects days in Hollywood. Backdraft is probably one of the last great action/drama movies that does not rely on effects to make things look perfect. The transfer to HD is grand but what remains is that late 80’s/early 90’s movie quality. We still have to deal with the 2 minute musical interlude to show activity: building a house, falling in love, or learning how to be a firefighter. Backdraft probably looked awesome in a theatre (I have to admit I never saw it in the theatre). The explosions and fires still hold up, and that’s what this movie is about, but having been indoctrinated into HD with movies like Transformers where the action occurs all around you, and not just in front of you on the screen, even on a 56″ TV the anamorphic 70mm looks kinda dinky. You have to respect the fact, however, that the fire in this movies is real and not digitally added. While this retains the uniqueness of the movie, it limits the director’s ability to make a truly immersive picture. I am confident, however, that when shooting the film, cinematographer Mikael Salomon probably never said, “Gee, I wonder how this will look in HD from a couch”. All old skool movie making aside, the HD picture was great - with no discernable flaws (as were exhibited in Dune, our next review).

Like most of the movies I like in HD, what makes this movie special in HD is the audio mix. Its a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix (No true HD for you Dr. Jones!) Where the cinematographer was limited the engineer really made this HD transfer shine. The fires engulfed us not with its images, but with its roar and grumbles. Additionally, the subtle environmental effects added that special favor to this movie.

The extras are forgettable. Universal, regreattable, spent no time on the menu system either which is the typical polished silver Universal HD DVD menu.

Did I like this movie? Yes. Did I like the HD transfer? sure. Would I recommend it? Yes, but there are about 50 other HD DVD movies I would get before this one - unless, of course, this is one of your all-time favorties.

ILHDDVD Rating: 3/5 (I felt too much removed from the action
Video/Image: 3/5 (good)
Audio: 4/5 (awesome)
recommended

Did you see this HD DVD? Rankit: (4 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)

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Billed as a poor man’s Star Wars, The Last Starfighter was another 1980’s space adventure. Starfighter was unique because of the groundbreaking use of CGI. The results of CGI in Starfighter made it look more like Starfox rather than photorealistic CGI. For the times though, it was truly groundbreaking. Regardless, this movie is sfilled with 80’s goodness, big hair and goofly clothes on the females, TV antennas, and trailer parks. This movie was magical when I saw it in the theatres - the HD version captures that magic, that 80’s style and updates it for my kick ass TV and kick ass sound system.

80’s movie have a certain feel to them - a very analog feel, like holding a classic LP. The transfer to an HD 1080 image was awesome. Its not perfect, you will see some minor scratches, but it translates very very well. Again, the science fiction nature of the film lends itself well to a 1080 resolution. Starfighter was one of the first movies to really take advantge of new CGI technology, instead of models like Star Wars used. In the theatre the CGI looked CGI. It looked good, but it was not very realistic. The CGI nature of these shots comes through beautifully in HD - don’t expect to be sold on the effects though.

The audio is awesome. Recorded in 70mm 6 track the ability to make a 5.1 mix was alot easier. The environment was very spatial and I have no complaints. This movie is a great example of how a TrueHD mix can make a movie come alive.

The extra features are lacking. There is a nice little documentary on the amking of the movie, but apart from that and commentary, there is nothing.

A fun movie that should be in every collection. There was no ‘wow’ factor which would require me to redo my top 5 or honorable mention list, but its pretty fun and looks and sounds great.

ILHDDVD Rating: 4/5 (I still love this movie)
Video/Image: 3/5 (Its 80’s but the HD transfer was great)
Audio: 4/5 (awesome)
recommended

Did you see this HD DVD? Rankit: (4 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

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Method’s first live concert video, in HD DVD of course, and I got my grubby hands on an advance copy! Before we get to the review I want to point out that this is a DVD put out by a small production company Fortress Entertainment. I like that. I like that Method went indi and I like the indi guys showing some HD DVD love.

Method Man gained fame as one of Wu Tang Clan’s more popular MCs. He is musically gifted - whether or not you like rap, he’s got a gift - and he can act. He has a recurring role in my favorite TV show The Wire. Method decided in 2007 to record a live appearance at the House of Blues in L.A. and this is what we got. Remember, my reviews look at the quality of the HD presentation, not the content. a run down of the tracklisting can be found here. otherwise, its all about HD.

The HD DVD is not jam packed with extras and crazy content. This is good in this instace as it lends itself towards easy clutter free menus. The menu is about the best looking HD DVD menu I have seen. It is clean, efficient and does not lag. Instead of the basic horizontal bar at the bottom of the screen, the menu floats in the middle of the screen (in the middle of your room if ya smokin) and is comprised of stylized text and graphics. The menu in Lucky#Slevin is pretty unique and one of the best looking movie menus we have seen, however, it is slow. 

The picture quality looked awesome at 1080. Indoor concert scenes can be tricky to shoot, however, here any obstacles at this show did not make their nasty appearance in the HD DVD. A testament to this production. Unlike movies, concert videos retain a constant scene. The trick is filming from different angles to keep the scenes from drying up and being boring. The production team here did a good job of keeping the scene fresh in a static environment for the whole show. Of course with Method Man bouncing around all over the place it would be tough to do anythign but keep moving around.

It is hard in video to capture the environment of a club during a show. When done properly a great dimensional aura of a concert (or sports event) can be enhanced by adding the ambient sounds heard at those events. I was eager to see how Method pulled it off on his HD DVD. To my satisfaction his HD DVD pulls it off amazingly well. as constant chattering and other sounds of the club can be heard in the surround channels. Such details allow this HD DVD to overcome the lack of a TrueHD track.

The audio options are Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Stereo. Both tracks sounded great with a perfect ambient sound mix from the rear speakers and a driving bass from the sub in the 5.1 mix. I prefer a TrueHD mix - but you can’t expect everything from indi film makers. I checked the stereo mix but quickly went back to the Dolby 5.1 mix. stereo … eww. My AVR settings are typically on “Direct”, that is, no signal processing. Oddly, the audio from this video was muffled when my AVR played the track direct. When I went to Dolby Digital settings, it cleared up and sounded great. That has never happened to me before and I wonder if it is my receiver or the mix.

Regardless, its a good concert video and I am glad to see something other than easy listening bands on an HD DVD concert video.

ILHDDVD Rating 4/5 (No TrueHD)
Video/Image: 5/5 (credit needs to be given at the stellar lighting and editing job)
Audio: 4/5 (Needs a TrueHD track - but mix was stellar)
recommended

Did you see this HD DVD? Rankit: (1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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Director Chris Columbus did a great job with this movie. These Potter movies are feeling more mature as Harry grows up - and that’s a benfit to the series. Additionally, none of these movies can stand on thier own,you have to watch them 1 through 5 in chronological order.

Once again the damned Warner logo made its appearance at the beginning of the film. It pisses me off. Luckily there were some pretty hot witches that made an appearance and I quickly forgot about the little whore Warner. Anyway, the movie was pretty decent, as it surrounded Harry’s battle with the person whose name shall not be mentioned during the battle for the tri-wizard’s cup. The image quality is improving from picture to picutre and so is the sound. This entry is the best of the bunch so far. All the Potter movies have a TrueHD mix and we are enjoying that.

ILHDDVD Rating: 4/5 (Love the witches)
Video/Image: 4/5 (top notch)
Audio: 4/5 (what I have come to expect from this series)
recommended

Did you see this HD DVD? Rankit: (2 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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