Tom Norton

Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Good Shepherd (HD DVD Combo Disc)
Tom Norton  |  Apr 09, 2007

I'm not sure how you write a screenplay designed to show the origins if the CIA and its operations up to and including the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961. But I'm reasonably certain that no one in Hollywood has an inside track to the straight story, despite research into volumes full of speculation and unverifiable leaks. The true history of the CIA and the details of its operation are not exactly found in the public library or on the Internet, and for good reasons.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A Scanner Darkly (HD DVD)
Tom Norton  |  Apr 09, 2007

<I>A Scanner Darkly</I> may be animated, but take that R rating seriously. This is not a film for the kids. There isn't a furry animal in sight, and certainly no talking penguins.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Reign of Fire (Blu-ray)
Tom Norton  |  Apr 09, 2007

There's nothing like a great dragon movie. And, as the old saying goes, this is nothing like a great dragon movie. But it is an interesting one.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Hoosiers (Blu-ray)
Tom Norton  |  Apr 09, 2007

All the clichs are in place. New coach with a checkered past and something to prove. Down-on-its-luck team. Hostile, meddling townsfolk. The big game. You've seen it all before.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Invincible (Blu-ray)
Tom Norton  |  Apr 09, 2007

Another sports flick about a new coach, a team down on its luck, and a player struggling to succeed. But the variations on that theme are seemingly endless. In the Hollywood vernacular, this one was "inspired by the true story" of a 30-year old substitute teacher/bartender who never played college football but won a shot at a spot on the Philadelphia Eagles roster thanks to an open tryout held by the NFL team's new coach. The tryout was little more than a publicity stunt, but for the player, die-hard Eagles fan Vince Papale, it was a chance to prove himself.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Casanova (Blu-ray)
Tom Norton  |  Apr 09, 2007

Another box-office disappointment here, but its failure was undeserved. This is a delightful romantic comedy. While the title appears to reveal all you need to know about the subject, the R-rating here is very soft. Apart from a few minutes near the beginning, this more of a costume farce than a sex-romp. Perhaps that's why it failed in theaters; it wasn't what the audience expected.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Flight of the Phoenix (Blu-ray)
Tom Norton  |  Apr 09, 2007

This 2004 remake of an early 1960s B-picture was underappreciated when it first came out, and with good reason. The original starred Jimmy Stewart. A remake of any film starring an icon from Hollywood's golden age has a very steep hill to climb.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Flyboys (Blu-ray)
Tom Norton  |  Apr 09, 2007

The critical and box office verdicts on <I>Flyboys</I> weren't exactly glowing. Full of clichs with the usual assortment of standard characters…the dull subplot about the lonely American pilot falling for a beautiful young French girl…wooden dialog...a decidedly old-fashioned tone. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

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Onced Upon a CES
Tom Norton  |  Jan 17, 2007

CES 2007 has now come and gone, but, as always, the themes first played there will linger on through 2007 and beyond.

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Another Sub In The Wall
Tom Norton  |  Jan 11, 2007  |  Published: Jan 12, 2007

In-wall subs are a fast growing category, and BG has its own wrinkle on the concept. The company's new BX-4850 in-wall subwoofer consists of four modules, each of which contains 12 micro-woofers. One of these modules is shown in the photo. The four modules may be positioned together in the room or separately, and an on-wall version may also be made available. The 12 micro-woofers are each separately enclosed and face each other in pairs. The bass generated by them fires out from the center of the array, through the opening between the left and right sets of drivers, and into the room. Mechanical vibrations are largely cancelled out due to the opposing drivers, minimizing the transmission of bass into the walls, which can muddy the bass and transmit low frequencies to the structure of the room and into other parts of the house.

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