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October 30th, 2000
MONSTER UPDATE! Plus Playstation 2 Madness!
Hello everyone, we're not dead! I would like to apologize
and thank all of you for your patience as DVDlaunch updates
again. It's been about two weeks since the last update, all
due to some computer trouble. I sent my computer in for the
weekend two Fridays ago, and was going to have it back for
the next update. I did. But the only problem was when I got
my computer back, the modem was busted so the new repairs
took a lot longer than I expected. Then I had some server
trouble. Bah! Still, we're back, all things are smooth now
and we got quite a lot of reviews to share with you. Before
I do however, let's get down to some news, shall we?
Unless you've been living in a hole, you should be aware
from major media coverage that after much anticipation, the
Sony PlayStation 2 launched last Thursday in North
America, with a somewhat small shipment of 500,000 units
(then again, Sony only shipped 100,000 Playstation 1 units
back in 1995). The original shipment was supposed to be
950,000 units, however, Sony had some parts shortage and the
demand has been insane. Most places began taking pre-orders
last February, and some major chain stores didn't have
reserves, but got in a few units yesterday which were
snatched up. A lot of people on eBay are selling the
machine, and they're going for insane prices. I'm a big
gaming fanatic myself, and I did reserve a system and
recieved it (plus a memory card and Tekken Tag Tournament
and Fantavision). I will actually be writing up a report
about the system soon, to be featured in a new site section
I will be launching. I must be honest though. While I think
the system is very good, when I got my Sega Dreamcast launch
day, I was a bit more excited and more content with what it
can do. Still, you can play your PlayStation 1 games with
the machine and use accessories from the original too. Heh,
I remember getting the original PlayStation on launch day...
I've been with Sony from the start I guess. So what does
this all have to do with DVD even? Well, whenever you buy
Playstation 2, it's a full functioning DVD player as well
(complete with Dolby Digital and DTS sound outputs). So a
whole new legion of game players have a brand new DVD player
or an additional one. You use the controller to function
through everything, but a 3rd party company has a seperate
remote if you plan to use the player non-stop. Again, the
madness won't stop for it, and I'll give more impressions
soon.
Release news... release news. I'm sure you've heard it
all by now from other DVD sites, so I'm not sure if I should
bother, but one note I would like to make is that after much
waiting and delays, the Japanese animated masterpiece (and
one of my favorite films of all time from my favorite
animation director of all time) Princess Mononoke
will be released on December 19th (YES!). If you've been
following this title as closely as I have, you should know
their is quite a long history behind it. Originally
scheduled to be released last May, Princess Mononoke was
then delayed to an unconfirmed date of June 13th. Disney
never confirmed this date and it was delayed yet again to
August 29th, right with a side by side rental video release.
However, their was outcry from many fans that the disc would
not have the Japanese language track. In a couple of days,
thanks to sites such as
nausicaa.net and
DVDTalk, thousands of names were made with an online
petition, and Disney got the message, so once again they
delayed the disc to include the Japanese (and to think - the
region 2 version isn't due out for two more years!). Well,
the final specs are in. While they remain unchanged
basically, the whole big deal is the Japanese language
track. So you got that, the well done dub track, the French
dub track, the ORIGINAL English subtitles (not for the dub,
for the original Japanese script thankfully), a featurette
(Disney's featurettes suck, it's like the trailer mixed in
with an interview as most of us know) plus the trailer for
the dub. I am a HUGE Hayao Miyazaki fan, so I am really
looking foward to this disc. I also loved the movie and
traveled a good distance to see it in the theater last
October (it's actually been one year this coming weekend).
The story follows Ashitaka, a young warrior as he heads to a
strange land to get rid of a curse that has been bestowed
upon him. There he meets Lady Eboshi, a woman struggling to
help her workers and people build a better life for
themselves by tearing down the forrest. Ashitaka also meets
San, also known as Princess Mononoke, as she lives with Wolf
Gods and other animals in the forrest. The film basically
follows the two clashing sides, as they struggle to co-exist
in peace. Great animation, great story, great music (and
pretty lengthy). You may have heard of it, you may have not.
Still, it's a film I definently reccoemend to everyone
(except the kiddies, it is a pretty gory animated film). If
Disney delays this disc again... I'll blow their heads off.
Now on to the usual Monday Box Office, and in a major
shock, Meet The Parents beat out what many thought
was going to be the clear winner, Book Of Shadows Blair
Witch 2. This proves that the movie going audience
doesn't run right for a brand name franchise sequel. I
expected it to do a lot more than 13 million, but maybe
people are sick of the whole Blair Witch madness. I didn't
like the first one so much despite the huge phenomenon it
was, and this sequel isn't really a sequel so much... a new
cast and it sorta mocks the whole powerhouse the original
was. Still, the director and co-writer is a very good, you
may have noticed he did the excellent documentary "Paradise
Lost" which HBO shows often. Be sure to check out Anthony's
review of the original movie on DVD by clicking
here.
Other new movies opened up poorly. The aniticipated Nora
Ephron comedy Lucky Numbers, which was due out last
July, was not so lucky to make about 4.7 million. Johnathon
"Cute Kid From Jerry Maguire" Lipnicki beat out the dark
comedy in New Line's kid friendly The Little Vampire
with a little over five million.
Now, on to the new reviews. I'm almost done with Toy
Story: The Ultimate Toy Box review (it should be up sometime
soon, I just have to finish covering the features) as well
as American Beauty, but I have prepared for you last
Spring's comedy hit (and a nice movie),
Keeping
The Faith. Also, I've added two more South Park reviews,
for Volumes
3 and
4.
I'll try to post the remaning volumes soon to conicide with
the new ones which are due out next Tuesday.
Anthony takes a look at Warner's first DVD-18 title,
A Star Is
Born as well as the horror classic
Rosemary's
Baby. Anthony also looks at two different editions of
another horror classic, Night Of The Living Dead. So check
those out and see which one is worth buying. Also, Ren gives
a good look at summer 1999's shark thriller
Deep
Blue Sea.
James has prepared a ton of reviews for the site, and
they're all great to read, so check them out. They include
Addicted
To Love,
Get
Shorty,
The Doors:
Collector's Edition,
The
Graduate Special Edition,
Caddyshack
(20th Anniversery Edition),
Stop
Making Sense,
The
Original Three Tenors Concert and
True
Stories. WHEW! Great job James!
Eric has reviewed
The
Mask: Platinum Series while David checks out the three
Die Hard
films. If you're thinking of picking up the Die Hards,
don't! I hear they are being re-released next year with
anamorphic enhancment and DTS sound. Or at least the first
one...
Well, it's great to be back, up and running. Enjoy
everyone, and look for more constant updates now and loads
of more reviews.
- Zach B.
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