:: theLogBook.com DVD Reviews ::

In the late 1990s, dial-up modems moved aside to make way for high speed DSL and cable modems. As broadband access spread like wildfire into homes across the world, websites streaming audio and video quickly began replacing simple, static web pages. Those who began putting original content online found a new audience of millions of web surfers looking for ways to max out their seemingly unlimited bandwidth. (more…)

This first installment of what many hope will be a series of new Babylon 5 stories has two segments. A third was originally planned, but was cut for budgetary and logistical reasons during the preproduction process. As a result, Voices in the Dark clocks in at a little over an hour, plus a number of short featurettes included as extras. I’d like to start this review on a positive note, so I’m going to discuss the second segment first. (Spoilers below, and feel free to check out the plot synopsis in the LogBook entry.) (more…)

I was ten years old back in 1983, the year my father put his first Bulletin Board System (BBS) online. To this day I can still remember sneaking into the living room in the middle of the night and watching users navigate their way through his menu system. It seemed like magic back then to think that someone sitting in the comfort of his or her own home could connect to our own home computer simply by using a telephone line.

Throughout the 80s and half of the 90s, BBSs were the place for computer users to meet, talk, and exchange ideas, information, and programs. It was the birth of “online” culture. Those who didn’t call BBSs could never understand the idea of talking to and making friends with people you had never met in real life before. The BBS world had its own culture, customs, and even language. And yet after a run of almost fifteen years, BBSs virtually disappeared overnight, submitting to a new technology - the internet. (more…)

I thought that The Matrix had shown me the pinnacle of DVD cool. Then the Star Wars prequel DVDs raised the bar. The Doctor Who DVDs set a high water mark for TV on DVD. Babylon 5 sure didn’t hurt either. But get this: the Spacecraft Films archive releases are in the same league as all of the above, at least - and the closest approximation of any specific category that I can imagine is that of “documentary.”

Put simply, Spacecraft Films’ DVDs are digitally remastered, unedited archives of all of NASA’s existing footage from a given mission or series of missions. Apollo 8: Leaving The Cradle is a breathtaking archive of the first manned mission to leave Earth’s orbit and swing around another body in our solar system. (more…)

The word came out, not long after word of a pair of sequel films hit, that the Wachowski Brothers would be opening the doors for some of the best animators in the field of animè to play in the Matrix sandbox. It took a little bit of time before this came about, but in hindsight, it’s one of the most inspired ideas to have come along in that franchise’s short history. (more…)

Recorded during ELO’s legendary week-long stand at Wembley Stadium during its 1978 tour in support of the best-selling Out Of The Blue, this concert - well-circulated on VHS over the years and an easy candidate for an early DVD revival - is a somewhat controversial document of ELO’s live act among both fans and critics. Put simply, there are many places where - even taking into account the multi-keyboard wizardry of Richard Tandy - there are more instruments pouring out of the speakers than there are on the stage. ELO was one of the first rock acts to invoke a debate on the merits of backing tapes during live shows, and on at least one number (the set-opener “Standing In The Rain”, no less), the video is simply overdubbed with the corresponding studio track. Nobody said this was Zoom Tour Live. (more…)

I’ve never really spent much time on this site talking about music videos, and yet many, many years ago, it was one of my favorite mediums. Back before Michael Jackson and John Landis introduced the music biz to the idea that you could throw millions of dollars at the video for one song. Back when Crowded House was still together.

I’ve gone on and on about Crowded House a lot in my music reviews of their albums, but not about their videos, and that’s because they really are two separate things. I don’t like bringing videos up in music reviews because I think it’s all about the songs, and the videos should be an afterthought. But this new DVD, put together somewhat on the cheap by EMI/Capitol Records’ video wing, finally gives me an opportunity to crow about Crowded House’s underrated visual performances. (more…)

2001 was a very good year for fans of Electric Light Orchestra, with a new album, five remastered classic albums containing unreleased material, and the promise of a nationwide tour. It’s the breaking of that last promise that left most fans heartbroken, including myself since there was a Little Rock show on the itinerary. However, in hindsight, it may be a moot point - the cancellation of the tour in August 2001 probably would’ve happened in mid-September anyway. In any event, the lack of a tour stalled the momentum of Zoom, Jeff Lynne’s finely crafted comeback album, which in turn killed Sony’s enthusiasm for the series of remastered albums, and the rest is history. (more…)

If anyone can pull together the biggest concert event of any given year in the south Pacific, it’s Neil Finn. Considering that Crowded House earned the distinction of “best concert in the world” for its 1996 farewell concert, it may be no surprise that he also drew some of the biggest crowds in 2001 with his star-studded week-long gig in Auckland, New Zealand. Featuring Eddie Vedder, Lisa Germano, Ed O’Brien, Johnny Marr, Tim Finn, and Betchadupa (the band headlined by Neil’s son Liam), 7 Worlds Collide is a record of the best performances from that week. (more…)

The original Electric Light Orchestra is fondly remembered (and sometimes even laughed at) for its laser-laden 1970s light show, replete with dancing cellists and rumors that the band used pre-recorded backing tracks. When the group broke up after its 1986 album, drummer Bev Bevan rounded up some other musicians - eventually picking up original ELO alumni Mik Kaminski (violin), Kelly Groucutt (bass/vocals) and Louis Clark (orchestral arranger/keyboardist) for the ride. Thus was born ELO Part II, an oft-misunderstood group which - even after its own disbanding - may be forever doomed to be regarded as an ELO cover band. (more…)