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- Review count7
- Helpfulness votes20
- First reviewSeptember 12, 2013
- Last reviewSeptember 18, 2013
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.4
- Review comment count1
- Helpfulness votes0
- First review commentAugust 13, 2014
- Last review commentAugust 13, 2014
- Featured review comments0
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R4z3r's Reviews
![Ice Age: Continental Drift [2 Discs] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray/DVD] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/6965/6965557_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
4
Playful and Enjoyable Movie — Not Very Deep
on September 18, 2013
Posted by: R4z3r
from Farmville, VA
Ice Age: Continental Drift is a playful movie. The movie focuses again on our furry friends including Manny, Diego, and Sid. The premise of the movie focuses on Manny's teenage daughter, Peaches. Scat's antics, the squirrel on the cover, cause an interesting turn of events leading the viewer to encounter a number of interesting new characters and ideas for the ice age series. Without spoiling the story, I can say that the film features a solid cast, strong family themes, and a simple and straightforward plot that while predictable and shallow, is both playful and fun. It is very enjoyable and engaging for those interested in a light hearted family film (that is good if you watch it alone as well).
The video itself is wonderful from a technical standpoint. The colors are saturated, the detail in the fur and environment is sharp and interesting. While few and far between, the blacks showcase detail and texture that will prove to be interesting and engaging.
The audio features a DTS-HD Master Audio and takes advantage of a wide dynamic range that while not blowing you out of your chair loud, will do nice to differentiate standard dialogue. The music found throughout the film is integral, yet never gets in the way of the dialogue which remains clear and understandable no matter what happens. For those with a powerful subwoofer, the movie will provide ample opportunities to exercise it.
In total, this movie was fun, playful, and a great for the family. It never goes very deep, the characters aren't the most dynamic, but it is the perfect movie to watch when looking for a quiet and enjoyable experience.
What's great about it: Fun, Playful
What's not so great: Shallow, Predictable
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![John Dies at the End [Blu-ray] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/8476/8476109_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
4
Fun Film with a Disappointing Ending
on September 18, 2013
Posted by: R4z3r
from Farmville, VA
John Dies At The End is a quirky, funny and drug filled movie. The film revolves around a new drug, called Soy Sauce, which alters the way people interact with the world. The film does well at introducing you to the strange behaviors and possibilities allowed by this concept. First and foremost, this movie is not for those who dislike violence, nudity, and/or profanity. This movie takes advantage of all three in ways that while clever could be off-putting to some. The movie keeps a nice pace throughout, never boring the viewer, but does include a number of strange events that will put some viewers off by the strange and somewhat childish humor. For those who can look past what some would call vulgar humor, the movie is a well paced, funny film focused on friendship and the universe (odd pairing, I know--it'll all explain itself throughout the film). With that said, I was very disappointed at the ending, which dragged past the clear solution, and left me a bit confused. If the film had ended just a tad earlier, I would have been much more satisfied with the movie.
In regards to the film's technical aspects the video is very well done. It is clear and well saturated with fantastic detail in the blacks and the shadows throughout the film. For a movie which takes advantage of both the heavily dark and heavily bright scenes, this is important as both provide seemingly endless amounts of texture whether in creatures, settings, or the characters themselves. At times though I found the CGI to be a bit over the top and it didn't always mesh well with the world they had created. This can be overlooked due to the tongue-in-cheek nature of the film.
The audio was presented nicely in Dolby Digital 5.1 featuring a strong LFE (subwoofer) track, that extends nicely throughout the scenes creating a sense of realism to the many odd noises heard. It incorporates a wide dynamic range from simple dialogue, to loud explosions and soft whispers. Nonetheless, I never was blown out of my chair, and was able to keep the volume at the same level without any discomfort.
Parents, in no way is this movie appropriate for children. Featuring topless women, male genetalia, a lot of violence, extensive profanity and the occasional racial slur, as well as drug use, this film puts it outside the realm of what I would comfortably recommend for any child under 15-17 years old.
As a whole though, the film was a fun romp that never takes itself too seriously. While the premise of the film is far fetched, the secondary characters are often a bit dull, the film as a whole is fun, fast-paced, and enjoyable. I would recommend this to anyone in need of a good laugh who can look past the sometimes juvenile humor.
What's great about it: Funny, Well-Paced
What's not so great: Childish Humor, Vulgar Humor
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Los Santos: a sprawling sun-soaked metropolis full of self-help gurus, starlets and fading celebrities, once the envy of the Western world, now struggling to stay afloat in an era of economic uncertainty and cheap reality TV. Amidst the turmoil, three very different criminals plot their own chances of survival and success: Franklin, a former street gangster, now looking for real opportunities and serious money; Michael, a professional ex-con whose retirement is a lot less rosy than he hoped it would be; and Trevor, a violent maniac driven by the chance of a cheap high and the next big score. Running out of options, the crew risks everything in a series of daring and dangerous heists that could set them up for life.Grand Theft Auto V is the largest and most ambitious game Rockstar Games has yet created and takes full advantage of every ounce of processing power available in the current generation of consoles. In order to provide the best possible experience for such a massive and detailed world, the game will have installation requirements on the PlayStation 3 system. Grand Theft Auto V ships on one disc and will install content as soon as you insert the game. The install is roughly 8GB, and players will be able to play as soon as the install is complete.
Customer Rating
5
Rockstar Creates the Ultimate "Life" Simulator
on September 18, 2013
Posted by: R4z3r
from Farmville, VA
Age:18-24
Gender:Male
Having played a few previous GTA 3 and GTA Vice City, I can say that I had never been impressed with Grand Theft Auto. Often, the open world would leave me bored as I would not be drawn into the story enough to keep moving forward. Combined with the time necessary to travel, repetitiveness of the missions, I felt as though I would never play open world games again.
After much time though, I saw the trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. The trailer looked stunning featuring planes, scuba diving, and multiple playable characters. After reading about the improvements Rockstar, the developer, has made in other games (Red Dead Redemption, Midnight Club, and LA Noir) I knew that it would be unfair to write this off as "just another GTA". Upon putting in the disc (PS3), you are greeted with an 8GB installation. This took about 15 minutes on my PS3 Slim, your mileage may vary though. The game immediately begins with the characters in a fantastic tutorial that not only introduces some characters, but also gets you intrigued by the plot early. The tutorial is interesting and fun, though the tutorial text in the upper left of the screen was hard to read on my screen (1080i on a 42" Plasma TV). This was easily supplemented / fixed by the print manual or the iOS "GTA Manual" application but did lead to an unnecessary death rather early in the game.
Upon playing this, you immediately will notice that many of the controls have been refined in comparison to previous GTA games. The shooting feels much tighter (it's easier to aim clearly and quickly, switching weapons is simple and doesn't get in the way), the driving is better (cars and trucks feel as though they drive like the type of car they are. Sports car handle amazingly while a tow truck is much slower and harder to maneuver). This makes for a much more enjoyable experience and thus far in my travels have fixed the issues I have had.
Unlike previous games, this also features one huge update, a quick save/autosave which fixes the need to drive for 15 minutes each time you fail a mission. Now, you can pick it back up and keep trying making the game more involved and less repetitious.
The graphics in Los Santos, the city in which GTA V occurs, are fantastic. Explosions feature depth and clarity, the characters are well detailed and thus far I have not seen any technical issues where textures appear randomly. The views from the different parts of the city are amazing as well, with nice sunsets and sunrise, beautiful villas, and more.
The audio is fantastic as well, featuring Dolby Digital surround sound, which uses all the speakers to create a wonderful and involving soundtrack. Whether providing off-screen directional cues, subtle background noise, or enveloping you in your favorite radio station, Grand Theft Auto V provides a wonderful soundstage.
Overall Grand Theft Auto V feels like a new game. With the revised controls, improved graphics, and new mechanics, I feel like this game address most if not all of the biggest issues I have with open world video games. The story thus far is captivating and enticing and is keeping me coming back for more. I would highly recommend this game even if you do not consider yourself a huge fan of previous entries into the series. I hope you enjoy this game as much as I am.
What's great about it: Controls, Story
What's not so great: Huge Installation (8 GB), Slow to do the initial load
I would recommend this to a friend!
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17of 23voted this as helpful.
![Django Unchained [2 Discs] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray/DVD] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/8756/8756109_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
4
Simple But Fun Plot — Like a Western Kill Bill
on September 17, 2013
Posted by: R4z3r
from Farmville, VA
Django Unchained (the 'D' is silent), is a fun action film. THe film is a bit slowly paced, yet made sure to ensure that the film was still engaging and kept the action moving. I felt it was a bit long winded (2 hours 45 minutes) for my taste, and I felt it could have been sped up a bit without losing anything. The overall plot is simple, Django get's separated from his wife, and this is the story of him trying to rescue her (that's all I can say without ruining anything). While the film focuses heavily on the main characters, Tarentino does a fantastic job of making the story interesting by using secondary characters to his advantage. This adds a lot to the film and makes the film come to life. The movie though isn't as violence focused as some others by him such as Kill Bill (don't worry, there is still plenty of violence), but really takes advantage of humor to make this a bit more light hearted at times. It's important to remember though that this is a fictional movie. There are historical inaccuracies, etc. and this is fine as long as you can look past that.
Parents, this is not for kids. There is a little nudity, some innuendos, lots of violence, blood, and gore, use of the "N" word, concepts such as slavery, alcohol consumption etc. For this reason I'd peg it at 15-18 years old. This obviously will vary depending on the family.
Overall, the audio itself is not the best I've heard with it's DTS HD-MA 5.1 soundtrack. The film's vocals are slightly low on the volume end. The dynamics aren't there and it's a bit of a flat soundtrack. The highs and lows don't occur often. It does have a few dynamic peaks, the surrounds are used pretty well to create a nice, encompassing environment.
The video was good, a bit cold considering the desert and warm environments the characters were in. The blood and shadows were detailed and the shadows had a fantastic detail level with the grime and textures. The film is a bit soft, not as sharp as I would have liked at times but still well detailed. I believe this is an artistic choice, but one that bothered me at times.
Overall I'd recommend it, but it was a bit longer than I would have liked. The characters were well developed and had some good humor at times. If you have the time, go for it, but if you can't stand a long and often violent movie, I would recommend passing on this.
What's great about it: Good humor
What's not so great: Very Long
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Olympus Has Fallen [2 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD] [2013]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/1420/1420826_sa.jpg)
Posted by: R4z3r
from Farmville, VA
First, let me say that I truly enjoyed this movie. It was fun, fast paced, and overall filled with some fun twists and turns. The characters are interesting, and decently developed (i.e. they won't win character development awards but they are believable in the movie's context).
The film features a low-frequency heavy DTS-MA audio track, with solid explosions, 360º range of bullet fire, and generally clear dialogue (a bit low on the volume scale for my tastes but with "night mode" on my receiver, it brought this a bit more in line). The movie was fun and kept me interested, whether as I was ducking under my coffee table with the sound of a bullet flying by or my breathing slowing as the character sneaks.
The video was good, presented in a well saturated 1080P. It was generally a dark movie though filled with some bright moments. For this reason it may be best to watch the movie in a dark room or at night so that the textures in the darkness aren't washed out by sunlight on the TV.
Overall, while enjoyable this movie isn't something I would go back to. The movie was good, and features a Die Hard-esque plot (one man vs. incredible odds) which is predictable once you get a quarter of the way into the movie. The characters are fun and they had my interest, but I never found myself truly "routing" for any characters. I couldn't get behind them fully as I never felt I understood the villains motives. The plot just kind of drops the motive on you and keeps going without any build up or solid explanation.
While the plot had it's weaknesses, it was fun, enjoyable and a fresh action romp that will keep those looking for a fun action movie without too much depth satisfied.
What's great about it: Audio Production, Fun Action Movie
What's not so great: Simple Plot, Predictable after first quarter
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Star Trek [Blu-ray] [2009]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/9433/9433357_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
5
Fantastic Gateway Into The Star Trek Universe
on September 12, 2013
Posted by: R4z3r
from Farmville, VA
Star Trek (2009) on Blu-Ray is a fantastic film running 126 minutes long.The film is a new take on an existing series, it does suffer from consistency issues with the Star Trek series. Nothing that will hurt the movie if you can look beyond that though. With that said, the movie is paced well, with the entire story being important to the outcome of the film. Throughout the movie, we have an opportunity to explore a number of landscapes, ice worlds, space, and earth. This Star Trek though is beginning of the journey, prior to the original Star Trek series, and as such is a perfect entry into the Star Trek world for both new and old. The story is a tightly nit tale of retribution, coming of age, and desire. The screenplay was well written, the characters were confident and fun, and as a whole it was a great experience. There were some pieces of this which may make it inappropriate for younger audiences depending on family rules. There is some kissing, women in underwear, and some crude humor. There is also some profanity spread throughout as well as characters who are intoxicated. Overall though, I would say for most families and children this movie would be fine for anyone over the age of 10-12.
The video itself is fantastically done in 1080P with a light grain. Fleshtones are correct, and correctly reflect the lighting for the different environments, even when some of this is done in CG. The blacks throughout the film were deep and textured, an important piece of a film like this. The darker ships were well textured and differentiated from the depths of space behind them. Overall, the film is an excellent representation of what a video can look like and will be a great way to showcase the power of your home theater display.
The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD (5.1 I believe) and is engulfing in every way. The soundtrack features powerful LFE (low frequency extension -- bass from the subwoofer), such as when the ships jump to warp, but it's important to realize that the entire dynamic range (low to high volume levels) is compressed in comparison to a more common action movie. The movie takes advantage of the full 360º area and creates a soundstage filled with detail and direction that will allow you to stay fully engrossed in the movie.
Overall this is a fantastic movie with strong video and audio aspects. Highly recommended.
What's great about it: Audio & Video Production, Plot Pacing
What's not so great: Plot a bit predictable
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Star Trek Into Darkness 3D [3 Discs] [Includes Digital Copy] [3D] [Blu-ray/DVD] [Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D/DVD] [2013]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/8912/8912326_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
5
Well Paced Action with Believable Characters
on September 12, 2013
Posted by: R4z3r
from Farmville, VA
First, let me begin by simply stating that this is a fantastic movie featuring a well-paced and authentic screenplay that takes advantages of the best audio and video production available.
The movie features a new villain, new in the sense those who watch the first movie (2009) have not met him before as well as introduces a number of characters and races we know in ways that are believable and fun. While at times the movie is predictable, the film includes some twists and turns that keep you enjoying the entire ride. While some fan favorites may not feature as central a role as one would hope, the characters all play an important role in making this a believable environment. For those with families, this would probably be good for anyone 10-12 years old or older. The movie features some lingerie (well, "sexy" underwear) and a few instances of profanity (s word being the worst). Obviously whether this movie is appropriate would depend on your family, but my personal opinion would be as stated above.
The audio in the movie is fantastic and features strong low frequency extensions (aka will make your subwoofer work) when ships go to warp and other events occur which I won't spoil for you. The highs are warm and vibrant and not shrill or harsh. The sound field envelopes you a few times in a full 360º experience for those with surround sound, with phasers firing, characters talking and action occurring on all sides. Overall, the Dolby HD track on the Blu-Ray would be considered a reference quality audio that is perfect to show off a home theater or to marvel at with your family. This is engaging and purposeful sound that truly transforms the experience.
The video is sharp and crisp, in beautiful 1080p (Blu-Ray version) with saturated colors where appropriate. The film benefits from a larger screen as you can get more details and can truly appreciate the scale and work that was put into this, but any device will do. There is a little bit of film grain (the little speckles on the picture) which is really only noticeable if looking for it on the darker scenes and in some of the fog like effects. Throughout the film, the camera is very close to the characters, showing detail and color, but can get a bit much if the constant camera motion bothers you. CGI was well done, and never appeared "fake", all of it blended well and felt like part of the set. For some viewers, you may want to watch this at night, or in a room that you can control the light as the sunlight on the TV may wash out some of the blacks, causing you to miss some of the detail that can be found in the dark colors and the blacks.
Overall, this film is a wonderful experience. It will stimulate all of your movie-goer senses (auditory, visual, and touch if you have a subwoofer). The script is well written, nicely paced, and albeit predictable at times, wholly enjoyable. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys Sci-Fi, Action, and great character interaction.
What's great about it: Great Audio and Video Production, Strong Storyline
What's not so great: The film is predictable at times.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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R4z3r's Review Comments
Control up to 15 entertainment devices with this Logitech Harmony Ultimate One 915-000224 universal remote, which features a 2.4" color touch screen that simplifies option selection. Favorite-channel icons let you quickly access frequently used channels.
Overall
3 out of 5
3 out of 5Some times locks up
By reidmyers
from lakewood, ohio
Overall a good remote however can get very frustrating
R4z3r
Herndon, VA
More detail?
August 13, 2014
Could you share more about what happens so that we can get a better idea of the frustration causing issues.
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0of 0voted this comment as helpful.
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