Share 234899835498345978's profile
 
Facebook Twitter
 
 
234899835498345978
 
 
 
234899835498345978's stats
 
  • Review count
    10
  • Helpfulness votes
    3
  • First review
    February 25, 2014
  • Last review
    July 13, 2016
  • Featured reviews
    0
  • Average rating
    5
 
Reviews comments
  • Review comment count
    0
  • Helpfulness votes
    0
  • First review comment
    None
  • Last review comment
    None
  • Featured review comments
    0
 
Questions
  • Question count
    0
  • Helpfulness votes
    0
  • First question
    None
  • Last question
    None
  • Featured questions
    0
 
Answers
  • Answer count
    0
  • Helpfulness votes
    0
  • First answer
    None
  • Last answer
    None
  • Featured answers
    0
  • Best answers
    0
 
 
234899835498345978's Reviews
 
The Walt Disney classic space adventure head-trip The Black Hole comes back to DVD, this time not from Anchor Bay, but from Disney DVD themselves. While the disc is nowhere near a special edition, the presentation is still a class act, and there are still a few juicy extras to sink your teeth into. The film itself looks fantastic in all its anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen glory, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track does fair justice to both John Barry's score and all of the intense laser-blasting robot action. On the extras front, there's a 16-minute "Through the Black Hole" featurette that includes an interview with matte effects supervisor Harrison Ellenshaw as he talks the viewer through the various old-school effects techniques that the film employed. Being one of the last productions to champion that style of filmmaking, it's a fascinating world that's presented and one that many computer effects artists working today could learn a thing or two from. Also interesting is Ellenshaw's mention of a crazy alternate ending and the admission that even he doesn't know what the robot-worshipping hell sequence really means! For any fans of the film that don't already own it, this is a slim but fine release that, at the very least, will instantly deliver the whacked-out goods whenever you need them.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Disney Star Wars... before Star Wars
on July 13, 2016
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
It's ironic to think that Disney originally made The Black Hole as an answer to the rising popularity of sci-fi and especially Star Wars itself. They wanted to cash in on the craze and what we ended up getting was this. Now, they own Star Wars.
The Black Hole was always a favorite of mine, even if at times it was kind of strange, especially the ending (no spoilers, though). The plot involves a crew of the Palamino who find a missing ship, the U.S.S. Cygnus, commanded by Hans Reinhardt, which has found a black hole and is studying it.
The entire ship is run by robots, with the exception of Reinhardt himself, who has become completely obsessed with his mission to study the black hole and even enter it. The crew are essentially held hostage by Reinhardt and his robot crew as he believes they can help him in his mission.
The visual and practical effects are some of the best ever done and include a new camera tracking system that could even move on a matte painting, something never possible before.
The modeling of the Cygnus rivals even Star Wars and Star Trek with the attention to detail and the shear size of the model, over 12 feet long and 150lbs.
At the time, Disney had wanted to use Industrial Light & Magic's new camera system, but the cost to use was too much, so Disney made its own, which became superior to the former.
Overall, the entire movie is a spectacle to watch if you love visual effects, but the plot itself kinda loses its steam, leaving you scratching your head at the ending and wondering just what the writers were on when they came up with the idea.
My Best Buy number: 2978627531
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Not nearly as bad as people say
on July 13, 2016
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
As I have been collecting bad movies, one that popped up on my radar during a search of another was this very movie. I had seen multiple forum posts lumping this movie in with others and being asked "which of these movies do you think is worse?". Of course, this one came out on top for many people.
Metalstorm is another one of those movies where the title was most likely made just to sound cool. The sub title would have been more appropriate, but it would have been too long.
This is yet another Mad Max styled movie, if Mad Max were meshed together with GI JOE. There are plenty of car chases (though all on dirt roads), lasers, hand to hand fighting, and explosions... ooooh the explosions. At some point, nearly every single car explodes for no reason, even the ones that drive off a huge cliff explode in midair for no apparent logic. I'm sure this was some inspiration for some other director today...
The practical effects are ok, though some rough editing of scenes makes for less stunts as cars are on their wheels and then rolled over in the next scene. Laser blasts don't always fly straight, flying vehicles aren't even on wires (along with terrible green screen effects), and the acting is well, to put it lightly, hokey.
In fact, the only one that seems to be having fun with his part is Micheal Preston, you may recognize him from 'The Road Warrior' as the leader of the band of rebels with the gas. I grew up thinking it was Mick Jagger for the longest time, but it isn't. He plays Jarod Syn, a cult leader who uses crystals to collect souls for a larger crystal that will in turn make him a god.
Yep, we've yet again thrown a bit of fantasy into a sci-fi movie. While it's not a huge part of the plot, you do feel like this would have been a better plot device for something with swords and sorcery.
The rest of the plot is standard fluff with many things happening that could only make the plot work for this movie, lots of 'dues ex machina' moments, so if you're the kind that likes to nitpick a movie to death and still enjoy it, this will be fun for you.
My Best Buy number: 2978627531
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
This set brings together the trilogy of spoofs Family Guy made about the first three Star Wars movies. In addition to the original network broadcasts of the episodes, this set offersa number of extra features.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Together at last
on May 20, 2016
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
Finally, I have a complete collection of the Family Guy Star Wars series and on bluray.
To fully enjoy this, you really have to be a fan of both Star Wars and Family Guy. I especially put emphasis on Family Guy only because a lot of the jokes used are straight from the series, so it may go over some people's heads (like the AT-AT walker sitting on the ground holding its knee as it reels in pain... over and over and over and over and over again).
A lot of exterior shots for ships are 3D models and the animators do an awesome job of capturing some of the most memorable scenes and movements.
If you have not seen these yet and have been wanting to, this is your chance, don't bother with the DVD set, get it on bluray, it comes in nice packaging and will have the best picture quality possible.
My Best Buy number: 2978627531
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Not a separate movie from the series.
on May 20, 2016
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
Spark of the Rebellion starts the tale of a group of rebels who are fighting to stop the evil Galactic Empire from keep its hold on the galaxy.
Don't be fooled, this movie is actually the first few episodes of the Rebels series. If you're looking to purchase this, I would highly recommend the series itself, you can also get it on blu-ray, this does not come on blu-ray.
However, if you do somehow end up with this, it is not broken up into smaller parts like the series is, but then you still have to buy the series to see the rest of what happens.
It does come with a neat paperboard model of the Ghost (the crew's ship), so for collectors, this may still be something to pick up.
My Best Buy number: 2978627531
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Star Wars with cowboys!
on May 20, 2016
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
Ok, so there's really only one cowboy in this movie... and his name is just Cowboy. Battle Beyond The Stars shows that you don't need to just take someone else's idea to make your movie, you take their idea they took from someone else's movie to make your own movie.
George Lucas has made no effort to hide the fact that his idea for Star Wars came from Akira Kurosawa's 'The Hidden Fortress'. So, when Roger Corman came along, he said "hey, let's use another Akira Kurosawa movie, 'The Seven Samurai'.", thus, 'Battle Beyond the Stars' was born.
Tasked with finding help to defend their people, Shad speeds off into the galaxy in a ship faintly resembling certain body parts and half commanded by a female computer system that badgers him. He has to recruit (seven) warriors to help fight the evil Sador from enslaving every last person on his planet.
Along the way, he meets Cowboy, an Earth trader, Gelt a space mercenary with nothing to live for and a scantily clad space Valkyrie named Saint-Exmin. Others are recruited as well, but you will find out the rest when you see it.
The lifts from Star Wars are really apparent, but it has enough of its own plot to separate it from Star Wars. It is actually the better of a series of movies that you will find have had very heavy influences from Star Wars after its release in '77.
Among some of the highlights is an awesome sound track by James Horner, most notably known for epic movies such as Alien/Aliens, various Star Treks, Rocketeer, and even a lesser known Krull. Also appearing in this movie are special effects and all sorts of highly detailed ship models by a still unrecognized James Cameron, the director of 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' and pretty much the inventor of the current 3D film systems AND one of the lead researchers of the real Titanic wreck. This is the movie that started his famed career.
Though extremely campy to say the least, there's no deep plot and some of the action is lacking, but the visual effects and great music definitely make this one worth the watch if you're looking for Star Wars inspired movies.
My Best Buy number: 2978627531
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Even Alien had spinoffs
on May 20, 2016
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
Galaxy of Terror is one of those movies you remember watching and wouldn't mind seeing it again, but are too ashamed to admit to anyone that you actually watched it.
This movie has some heavy influence from Alien between the plot and the sets built for it. Some of the sets are actually really good while others seem very lacking. Acting is very over-the-top and you can probably guess who one character is before you get to the end, which they try to keep secret (no spoilers here).
The idea was to see how people would react to their own fears if they were confronted by them, however most of them don't seem to make sense.
Overall, a fun "horror in space" movie that will look nice next to others such as Event Horizon.
My Best Buy number: 2978627531
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Star Wars without a budget
on May 20, 2016
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
Building a selection of movies that were greatly influenced by the release of Star Wars back in '77 includes some rather interesting titles. Star Crash has been toted as "what Star Wars would have been if it didn't have a budget".
Still using "old" film techniques like ships on wires and no blue screen, Star Crash proves that Star Wars could have ended up in the bottom of some bargain bin had anything Lucas worked on deviated from what we know now.
This is another one of those silly French sci-fi movies that you will find all too common once you start researching movies related to Star Wars.
While not the greatest movie of any of those you will find, it certainly has all the quirky dialogue, over-acting actors/actresses, special effects that pale in comparison to what Star Wars had accomplished, stop motion robots, and a pre-Knight Rider David Hasslehoff.
It also manages to work in horrible slow-mo laser death scenes, scantily clad ladies, a world of space amazons, and continuity errors galore.
Get this one if you just enjoy bad sci-fi movies and have yourself a laugh!
My Best Buy number: 2978627531
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Japanese Star Wars
on May 20, 2016
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
As the summary says, this movie was heavily influenced by the release of the original Star Wars shortly after its release. While it does have an original story, you can certainly see the inspiration taken from Star Wars.
Message From Space was the largest budget, Japanese movie in its time and it shows. Anyone familiar with any Japanese sci-fi or action movie will easily recognize the use of many detailed models for ships and buildings.
Though Star Wars gave us never before seen special effects and ships built in scales that no one had ever attempted before, Message From Space shows that Japanese miniature film-making is still some of the best.
If you are starting a collection of Star Wars "rip off" movies as I have, this is one that certainly needs to be in your collection. If you're expecting Star Wars, you will be disappointed, but if you go into it knowing it is a Japanese movie and don't mind, you will enjoy this one.
My Best Buy number: 2978627531
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
PNY's Elite Turbo Attache 4 USB 3.2 is built for speed & convenience. Experience USB 3.2 next generation speed performance with transfer speeds of 100MB/s read and transfer speeds up to 10x faster than USB 2.0. It's the perfect solution for easily storing and quickly transferring all your large documents, high-resolution photos, HD videos, and more. USB 3.2 offers the same ease-of-use and plug-and-play capabilities as previous generations of USB technologies, but with exceptional speed improvements. Designed for Reliable Portable Storage, PNY's Elite Turbo Attaché 4 USB 3.2 Flash Drive is designed with convenience and portability in mind. The portable, light-weight Flash Drive incorporates a sliding collar cap-less design that means for no more lost caps. This USB 3.2 Flash Drive is small in size, but big on performance
 
  • Tech Insider Network
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Super fast and awesome price
on March 18, 2014
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
They had this on sale for $15, so I snatched one up. The difference between this and my old drive are night and day. I have an older 4gig, USB2.0, Sony Vault drive, been through the washer and all, excellent thumb drive.
I did a comparison test of 3.37 gigs in files to each drive. The Sony clocked in at 6MB/s, would take 12mins to move the files. The PNY, plugged into the USB3 moved them at 40MB/s, only 1min!
Even on one of my USB2 ports, I can hit around 25-30MB/s. Very happy and I hope it gives me all the years of greatness as the Sony has.
It also has the transfer LED, which I know some manufacturers are doing away with. Me personally, I wouldn't miss it either way, but if you have to have it, these have them.
What's great about it: Copies large files fast, compact, not too small to lose
I would recommend this to a friend!
Ease of Use
5 out of 5
5
Performance
5 out of 5
5
Capacity
5 out of 5
5
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
 
Guard your equipment against damage with this Rocketfish™ 12-outlet surge protector that features a 4350-joule rating for reliable protection. The LED indicators let you know the ground and surge status at a glance.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Had what I needed!
on February 25, 2014
Posted by: 234899835498345978
from Michigan
Well, what can I say? It's a surge protector, you don't know it's really working until there's a surge... hopefully it won't happen again, which is the reason I had to buy a new one, old one literally fried.
I started searching for a new unit and I was considering price vs. protection (this thing protects up to 4300 joules!) vs. amount of plugs. I spent a good hour searching and this was the best for all the above.
I did see reviews saying that they didn't like the option where it shuts off plugs when the computer sleeps, but they must not realize there is a switch to turn that option off, so all 12 plugs stay on at all times, regardless of the state of the computer. I'll probably never use them all, but it's nice to have them if I need them.
I also like that this has the noise filtering, not sure if anything will run better because of it, but it's nice to know it's there. The ONLY thing I wish it had were the USB charging ports, but I'm being nitpicky, that certainly didn't sway my judgement.
What's great about it: Lots of plugs, long cord, easy to open plug covers
What's not so great: No USB charging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4 out of 5
4
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
234899835498345978's Review Comments
 
234899835498345978 has not submitted comments on any reviews.
 
234899835498345978's Questions
 
234899835498345978 has not submitted any questions.
 
234899835498345978's Answers
 
234899835498345978 has not submitted any answers.