::Reviews

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::A Few Words About The Reviews

Here's a brief explanation about how the DVD reviews on this site work:

First of all, each title is looked at both in terms of the movie itself and the content on the DVD. Both are evaluated separately. For example, I may hate a film, but praise the DVD presentation.

At the end of each DVD review is a ratings section for various aspects of the disc. All ratings follow a 5-point system and the categories are as follows:

::Story

This is an evaluation of the film itself, including story, directing, cinematography, acting, etc. In other words, this is where I rip on your favorite movie and inspire you to send me hate mail.

::Video, Audio, Extras

These sections detail the technical aspects of the DVD.

Video is evalutated in terms of picture clarity, contrast, color accuracy and the quality of digital compression. Source material is taken into consideration for this rating. It's also worth noting that the technology for authoring DVDs has greatly improved over the years. Older discs, that might have received high marks for picture quality at the time, may only be average presenations by today's standards.

Audio is judged by the clarity of sound reproduction, overall dynamic range and surround sound presence. As with video, the source material is taken into consideration (many older movies were never recorded in stereo or surround sound, therefore it isn't fair to judge them as strictly).

Extra content is rated by the value of the presentation. More extra content doesn't necessarily translate into a higher rating if most of that content is substandard (or "fluff").

::Family Friendly

The Family Friendly portion of the rating is a brief run down of how appropriate a feature is for the entire family, or whether younger age groups should be kept away.

This rating is not factored into the overall value of the disc.

::Overall

This rating is for the overall impression of the DVD.

This rating isn't necessarily an average of the other ratings, but rather thoughts about the overall value of the disc.

And remember, all comments about a particular disc (whether my own or those of a guest reviewer), are entirely opinion and your mileage may vary.

-- Robert

What Does It All Mean?

Here are the definitions for the 5-point rating system used on this site:

5 points: Perfection! If you see this for an "overall" rating, then this DVD is a must-own. Run out and buy it now!

4.5 points: Excellent!

4 points: Great!

3.5 points: Very good.

3 points: Solid entertainment (Any technical score that rates below 3 should be considered sub-standard for DVD.)

2.5 points: Not entirely bad. There are a few redeeming qualities, but it may not be for everyone.

2 points: Sub-standard.

1.5 points: A film that will make frequent late-night appearances on the USA Network.

1 points: Very poor. It will make you wish to get those 2 hours of your life back.

0.5 points: This movie is so bad, it will suck the life from your soul and make you curse the invention of film.

0 points: Any film that receives no points is truly an assault against nature and that alone is an achievement. In fact, a no point film may be *so* bad that it actually holds some entertainment value exactly because of its spectacularly poor quality.