:: theLogBook.com DVD Reviews ::

I was in fourth or fifth grade when I first discovered the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons. I’d heard bits and pieces about this supposedly “dangerous” game from some of the older kids in the neighborhood, and told my parents I wanted to check it out. Instead of freaking out and writing the game off as violent or Satanic (like a lot of parents did back then), my parents ended up buying the basic edition for us to play together as a family. Dad served as Dungeon Master while mom, sis and I bumbled our way through our first adventure together. While my folks decided it wasn’t for them, they saw no problem with me playing D&D and gave it their blessing. Did I mention I have super cool parents? And just as I began getting really into Dungeons and Dragons (the game), Dungeons and Dragons (the cartoon) made its debut as a Saturday morning cartoon. (more…)

2004 has been a banner year for superhero movies, and now the first contender for the prestigious title of Dave’s Favorite Hero Movie Ever has arrived on a fairly packed 2-disc DVD that will almost certainly be eclipsed by an even more special edition some time in the next twelve months. If you want to get Spider-Man 2 on DVD today, I have to say, your impatience will be rewarded. The extra features in this set are enlightening, entertaining, and often amusing. And the movie looks pretty darned great, too. (more…)

Somehow, over the years, I’d forgotten how new and different Xena: Warrior Princess really was at the time it premiered. I think part of the reason my memory was hazy was because, by that point, I’d already grown tired of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, the first Raimi/Tapert mythology-inspired series which was eventually eclipsed and outlasted by its spin-off. I’ve actually softened a bit on Hercules since then, but even so, Xena was - at least for part of its time on the air - a far superior series. (more…)

MGM rushed a DVD of The Princess Bride out a few years ago, with barely any supplemental features. Ignore that DVD, and focus on the outstanding special edition. You get two commentaries, one from Reiner and one from Goldman. It’s wonderful to see the respect Goldman is accorded by Reiner and the rest of the cast and crew - this was a special book to them, and they knew it was a special book and script to the author, and everyone treats it as such. (more…)