David Vaughn

David Vaughn  |  Jul 01, 2009

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/greatest.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Filled with drama and gripping rounds of golf, <i>The Greatest Game Ever Played</i> showcases a fabulous AVC encode and an immersive surround-sound experience. The video includes fantastic attention to detail in flesh tones, textures in clothing, and the many different green hues found on the Massachusetts golf course. The audio is just as impressive, especially with the crystal-clear dialog and superior ambience.

David Vaughn  |  Jun 30, 2009  |  Published: Jul 01, 2009

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/pp2.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>The bumbling Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin) is called when treasures around the world begin to mysteriously disappear, including the priceless Pink Panther diamond. With a dream team of international detectives at his side, Clouseau must apprehend the master thief known as the Tornado.

David Vaughn  |  Jun 30, 2009

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/dothing.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>It's the hottest day of the year in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. As the thermometer rises, so do tempers in the racially charged atmosphere. Local Italian pizza man Sal (Danny Aiello), proprietor of Sal's Famous, runs the restaurant with his two sons and employs Mookie (Spike Lee) as their delivery boy. When local radical Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito) takes umbrage with the restaurant's lack of "brothers" on its "wall of fame," all hell breaks loose when the businessmen are pushed too far and the police must intercede.

David Vaughn  |  Jun 30, 2009

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/diary.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Following the Nazi invasion of Amsterdam, 13-year-old Anne Frank (Millie Perkins) and her family go into hiding in the confines of an attic. Anne's remarkable account of their lives, their growing fear of discovery, and even the blooming of her first love, are intimately depicted in this extraordinary portrait of humanity.

David Vaughn  |  Jun 24, 2009

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/genkill.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>From the creator of <i>The Wire</i> comes an in-depth look at the Iraq War from the perspective of the 1st Recon Marines&#151;and it isn't pretty. <i>Rolling Stone</i> correspondent Evan Wright rode along with the platoon for 40 days in 2003 before writing a series of articles that ran in the magazine, which led to a book, then the mini-series.

David Vaughn  |  Jun 23, 2009

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/inkheart.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Mortimer "Mo" Folchart (Brendan Fraser) has an extraordinary gift for bringing characters from books to life when he reads aloud. But there's a danger&#151;when a character is brought to life from a book, a real person disappears into its pages. On a trip to a secondhand-book shop, Mo hears voices from <i>Inkheart</i>, a book he's been searching for since his wife vanished into its mystical world 12 years earlier, at which point Mo vowed that he would stop at nothing to reunite his family.

David Vaughn  |  Jun 23, 2009

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/shopaholic.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) loses her job, her maxed-out credit cards begin to cramp her style. Her dream job is to work for <I>Alette</I>, one of New York's elite fashion magazines, but when the position's filled internally, her only job opportunity is with <I>Successful Saving</I>, a struggling financial magazine owned by the same publishing company. With a debt collector (Robert Stanton) hot on her heels, Rebecca becomes the unlikely author of a column on saving money.

David Vaughn  |  Jun 22, 2009
Video: 5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3/5
On a flight from Sydney, Australia, to Los Angeles, California, Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on a mysterious island in the South Pacific. The ensemble cast is outstanding, but the true star of the show is The Island. Why did Flight 815 crash there? Did The Island have anything to do with the crash? What is the mysterious beast roaming the forest? Why are the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 so special? Where did the hatch come from? Who are "The Others" and where do they come from? What is the Dharma Initiative? What happens if you don't push the button?
David Vaughn  |  Jun 22, 2009

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/genkill.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>The seven-part series opens with a platoon of Marines on a training mission in Kuwait shortly before the start of the Iraq War doing what Marines do best&#151;kicking ass and taking names&#151;preparing for the most important event of their young lives. This is Bravo Company of the First Recon Marines, led by the bright but nave Lt. Fick (Stark Sands). Like most kids, these guys are a little unsure of themselves and act a lot tougher than they actually are. I had to remind myself that these young men aren't our best and brightest, but they do a job that most of us aren't willing to do. Is some of their dialog reprehensible? Yes. But given their circumstances, I'm willing to cut them some slack.

David Vaughn  |  Jun 19, 2009

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/theint.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>With an intelligent script but sour ending, <i>The International</i> is another outstanding video encode from Sony. Using a mixture of 35mm and 65mm film, it showcases how great Blu-ray can look with meticulous attention to detail. The audio isn't as good as the video, but one scene in particular stands out in this regard and features one of the best gun battles I've viewed in the past couple of years.

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