LATEST ADDITIONS

Power Amplifier Reviews
Meridian G61 THX Surround EX Ultra2-Certified Surround Pre/Pro & G55 Five-Channel Amplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 25, 2007

It starts with the box. These components are packaged in boxes that appear to be built with greater precision and care than most of the mainstream home theater <I>electronics</I> you're likely to encounter. A miniature homeless person's mansion, I imagined, lifting these two solid jewels from their form fitting enclosures.

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Audio Video News
HD DVD Player Prices Drop
 |  Mar 25, 2007

Starting April 1st that shiny HD DVD player might look a little shinier still. $100 to $200 shinier, to be exact. On that date Toshiba is dropping the price of its entry level HD-A2 HD DVD player to just $399 and cutting the upscale HD-XA2 from $999 to $799. The 1080p-capable HD-A20, which is to be released this Summer, gets an in vitro price drop too, going from $599 to $499. On top of that, if you buy any of these players by July 31st you can still send in a form to receive <A HREF="http://ultimateavmag.com/news/30807hddeals/">five free HD DVD movies</A>, according to TWICE.

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A/V Veteran
Idol Thoughts
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 24, 2007

We may be gear heads here at UAV, but the not-so-secret secret about the consumer electronics business is that it's about music and movies. In other words, it's Show Biz. Without that connection, our equipment racks would be filled with expensive boat anchors.

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Fred Manteghian Blog
Selling Music by the Pound
Fred Manteghian  |  Mar 24, 2007

According to an AFP article at Breitbart.com, <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070322121539.enwwmbqh&show_artic... target="new">Nielson Tracking</a> reports CD sales for (almost) the first three months of 2007 are down 20% over the same period last year. Only 89 million retail CDs were sold year to date, compared with 112 million sold during the same period in 2006. Downloads of albums were off too, dropping from 119 million to 99 million this year.

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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio—DreamWorks
Aaron Dalton  |  Mar 23, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 23, 2006
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 2
Midcentury small-town homemaker Evelyn Ryan keeps her family of 10 kids fed and cared for with prizes from advertising writing contests. Julianne Moore carries the show as the titular prize winner, and Woody Harrelson inhabits his role as a drunken train wreck of a husband to the hilt. But, ultimately, the movie loses steam and becomes repetitive. Harrelson drinks away another paycheck, Moore wins another contest, the kids get to live on the ragged edge of disaster for another week. This harrowing film’s marketing as a “witty and engaging” comedy should be considered seriously false advertising.
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Memoirs of a Geisha—Sony Pictures
Aimee Giron  |  Mar 23, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 23, 2006
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
In a world where one is not allowed to desire anything, Chiyo has secretly wished for just one thing. Fueled by her dream of seeing her beloved chairman again, she is driven to become a geisha, and, in the process, becomes the most sought after one of her time. Memoirs of a Geisha features Ziyi Zhang in her first English-speaking role.
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Dreamer—DreamWorks
Gary Frisch  |  Mar 23, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 23, 2006
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
What’s Dreamer got that the similarly themed, highly acclaimed Seabiscuit didn’t? How about the emoting of Dakota Fanning, playing the daughter of a distant father and broken-down horse trainer seeking redemption? Combine her heart-melting appeal with a broken-down horse, and you’ve got the family charmer of the year. That sound you hear isn’t galloping—it’s a family bonding.
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Chicken Little—Buena Vista
Adrienne Maxwell  |  Mar 23, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 23, 2006
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Pixar has spoiled me. Thanks to films like Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo, I don’t just want an animated movie to appeal to my inner child—I also expect it to engage me as a grownup. Chicken Little has all of the elements of a good animated feature: The story is fast and fun, the main characters are memorable, the animation is outstanding, and it’s got a high warm-and-fuzzy quotient. It just lacks that intangible quality that will inspire the same loyalty and repeat viewings in pre- and postpubescents.
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The Dying Gaul—Sony Pictures
Mike Prince  |  Mar 23, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 23, 2006
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 2
The Dying Gaul is an interesting little movie, written and directed by playwright Craig Lucas, in his feature-film debut. It tells the story of Robert (Peter Sarsgaard), a gay screenwriter who’s just sold his extremely personal script “The Dying Gaul” to studio executive Jeffrey Tishop (Campbell Scott). Jeffrey is married to Elaine (the always lovely Patricia Clarkson) but desires Robert, and they begin an affair. Elaine finds out, and soon deception and betrayal are afoot among the three, with Elaine pretending to be Robert’s recently deceased lover, whom his script is based on. The actors are all very good, if the story is a bit strange and the ending a tad unsatisfying.
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Jarhead—Universal
Krissy Rushing  |  Mar 23, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 23, 2006
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
Viewing audiences and critics generally dismissed Jarhead when it rolled into theaters last year. That was a mistake—it’s one of the better unconventional war films ever made. This subgenre is championed by masterpieces such as Full Metal Jacket, Dr. Strangelove, and Apocalypse Now. These flicks actually explore the essence of war and its inevitable impact on the core of humanity. Jarhead measures up to the best of them specifically because the purported negatives critics hurled at it (cold, distant) is exactly the reason why it is great.
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