David Vaughn

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/valkyrie.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>After filming <i>Superman Returns</i> with HD cameras, director Bryan Singer used 35mm film in the loosely based true story <i>Valkyrie</i>, in which Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The film opens in North Africa with a rich golden hue; when Stauffenberg ventures back to the fatherland, the color palette opens up with bold reds and lush greens. Although the film is a middling affair, the audio and video presentation is stupendous and a demo showpiece.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/valkyrie.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) is one of many men who want to see the end of the Third Reich. He gets his opportunity when he's maimed in an attack in Africa and transferred back to the fatherland, earning a place in Hitler's inner circle. With the crazed leader's blessing, he changes an emergency plan, Operation Valkyrie, in order to gain control of Berlin once the F&#252;hrer meets his maker.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/taken.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is an ex-CIA agent trying to reestablish a relationship with his 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). Against his better judgment, he bows to pressure from his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) and signs a release enabling her to spend the summer in France. She's not even in country for 24 hours when she's kidnapped and sold into a slavery/prostitution ring. Utilizing his special skills, he tracks down her kidnappers and metes out justice in order to rescue his daughter.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/trueblood.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>I didn't connect with this HBO original series based on the books by Charlaine Harris, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is to die for. The score features a full-bodied sound, the dynamic range is impressive, and the creative sound design utilizes every speaker in the room. Quiet passages reveal crickets chirping, and dialog is never strained. The video is solid, but I'm focusing on the audio for this Ultimate Demo.