http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie of a Dangerous Mind Sun, 14 Jan 2007 01:00:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In case you didn't notice, yesterday was Christmas. As luck would have it, the various presents I had ordered all showed up on Saturday, contrary to all expectation (Saturday being the last day for the postal service until the 27th), and I got one or two surprises in addition ... http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/26/jingle-bells/ Many of you probably know that I am something of a fan of the British medical drama series Casualty. These days, the show is sometimes so bad that I wonder why I don't pack it in, but the two-part Christmas special that ran last night and tonight reminded me why ... http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/25/silent-night-holby-night/ As you probably know, I use my computer quite extensively for DVDs - not just for playback, but also for taking screen captures for reviews, analysing bit rates, carrying out in-depth comparisons between different releases of the same film, and so on. As you can therefore probably imagine, I'm dying ... http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/23/powerdvd-hd-finally/ The HD DVD of The Adventures of Robin Hood arrived from Deep Discount DVD yesterday, and I'm pleased to report that Warner have delivered another stellar disc. It's becoming quite apparent that, at Warner, there are two processes through which a title can go. The first, which has given us ... http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/22/heres-someone-else-who-doesnt-pay-import-duty/ Miami Vice is ultimately close to two and a half hours of posturing, insincere characterisation and abrasive style, none of which would suggest, barring the appearance of his name during the opening credits, that a filmmaker of Michael Mann's calibre was behind it. To describe it as a failed experiment ... http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/22/hd-dvd-review-miami-vice/ Source: Animation Nation Some potentially very interesting, not to mention shocking, news has just surfaced regarding Walt Disney Pictures. As you probably know, shortly before the release of Home on the Range, it was announced that this would be the studio's finally traditionally animated feature, with the bulk of the staff ... http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/21/pencils-at-the-ready/ Source: High-Def Digest Due in stores today, Disney's latest wave of Blu-ray titles features the studio's first VC-1-encoded title, the Jodie Foster thriller 'Flightplan.' Interesting, interesting. Could we be in line for an HD DVD announcement at some point in the new year? http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/20/buena-vista-quietly-switches-to-vc1/ My copy of Studio Canal's recently released HD DVD of Basic Instinct arrived from Amazon.fr this morning. Unfortunately, the transfer, while clearly in a different league compared to standard definition, is artefact-ridden in a way that I've never seen on an HD DVD until now. Daylight scenes generally look fine, but ... http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/20/le-dvnr-et-la-compression/ Source: USA Today This really is the end of an era. http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/19/rip-joe-barbera-1911-2006/ My HD DVD of Casablanca arrived from Deep Discount DVD this morning (The Adventures of Robin Hood was dispatched a few hours later than it, so presumably it will come tomorrow). I'm very impressed with the work Warner has done on the transfer, and would place it at around a low ... http://filmjournal.net/mmackenzie/2006/12/18/heres-looking-at-you-hd-dvd/