HARRY POTTER & THE
GOBLET OF FIRE - Warner
Goblet picks up with Harry’s (Daniel
Radcliffe) fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry. Before he gets there, though, he heads to the
Quidditch World Cup with pals Hermione Granger (Emma
Watson), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and his family. This
offers some fun but goes downhall when Death Eaters – the
minions of evil Lord Voldemort – appear on the scene. This
signals the apparent return of Harry’s old nemesis, and that
theme haunts much of the story. However, that lurks in the
background most of the time, as Goblet mainly focuses on the
Twiwizard Tournament. This event brings representatives of
two other schools to Hogwarts and plans to pit three young
wizards in a dangerous competition. Various rules get
stretched, however, when Harry’s name mysteriously pops up.
Despite being underaged and a fourth wizard, the Goblet has
the final word, so Harry becomes part of the contest. The
picture and sound quality in this presentation are
outstanding. The DVD contains numerous extras that are
fascinating. This DVD package is absolutely tremendous and a
must own!
DOOM - Universal
If you don’t play the video game Doom
don’t waste your time with this. Doom the move doesn’t even
have Angelina Jolie to help it out. I found it boring and a
pain to watch. My teenage kid thought it was really cool—so,
there it is—if you are under age 20, rent Doom, if not, skip
it. As far as DVD quality, the picture had a lot of edge
enhancement, but the sound was spectacular. There are plenty
of extras including a Doom 3 Xbox demo for you doom fans out
there.
I DREAM OF JEANNIE:
Season One - Sony
Captain Tony Nelson is an astronaut.
While on a mission, he discovered a mysterious bottle.
Opening it, he released Jeannie (a Genie) who was so
overjoyed at her release she promised to serve Captain
Nelson. Nelson is unsure what to make of Jeannie, especially
given that his work is highly secret and his superiors tend
to keep a close eye on him.
Well, we finally got our “wish” and
season one is finally here. I Dream of Jeannie is one of the
all-time classics from 1960s TV. Seeing Barbara Eden dance
around in that outfit on screen was very memorable and
watching Larry Hagman and Bill Daily go in and out of
trouble made for some of the funniest on-screen humor. The
stories were imaginative and fun to watch. Hayden Rorke
played the part of Dr. Bellow’s rounding out a wonderful
cast. This show made you feel good when you watched it.
Everyone wanted their own “Jeannie” after watching this
show. This is truly a “classic” in every sense of the word.
The DVD presents all 30 episodes in airdate order on four
discs with restored picture and sound. You get a choice of
owning the Black & White or Color Version with this season.
Extras in the set include the original pilot episode with
commentary and interviews with Larry Hagman, Barbara Eden
and Bill Daily.
RED DWARF VII - BBC
After a temporary bout of deadness, the
Dwarfers find themselves solving one of the biggest
conspiracy plots of all time before Ace Rimmer drops in with
the challenge of Rimmer’s life. Meantime, Kryten gets
seriously tetchy and Lister has one of the hottest screen
kisses ever. Pity it’s not with a girl. “Red Dwarf” is one
of those rare TV sitcoms which bear up nicely under the
inquisition of multiple viewings and the full cast
commentaries are sometimes funnier than the shows
themselves. “Red Dwarf” also represents the only Sci-fi
sitcom to survive beyond its initial pilot episode or the
total trashing by the critics in the first season. There
were eight seasons overall for this great show allowing for
character development and plot expansion. This DVD contains
all eight episodes with three of them presented as extended
versions. Extras in this set include Cast Commentaries,
“Back from the Dead” feature, Deleted Scenes, Isolated
score, “Identity Within” – the lost episode, and several
featurettes on the effects. Also included are several photo
galleries, Robert Llewellyn’s diaries, David Hollin’s Radio
Sketches and a 16-page Collector’s Booklet.
