:: theLogBook.com DVD Reviews ::

Well, here it is at last, Without Warning fans - your show’s finally on DVD. That’s the good news. I’ve had a tape of this for the past nine years, and in keeping with my hard-and-fast rule in the site’s FAQ page, I’ve turned down the literally hundreds of requests I’ve received over the years for copies. Now everyone can have a copy, albeit minus any extras, on a shiny round thing. That’s very good news.

Actually, I did almost grant one copy request: early in 2003, when I contacted screenwriter Peter Lance to talk about possibly doing an interview about the making of Without Warning, he confessed to me that he didn’t even have a tape of it (!). (more…)

featuring War Of The Planets and War Of The RobotsArmed with nearly 100 dollars in gift cards from a Major Electronics Chain, I scoured the shelves looking for spiffy DVDs. The blue box of the Back To The Future set was beckoning to me, as was a box of several Godzilla movies (with Rodan as a bonus!). I gazed longingly at the Godfather Saga and The Kubrick Collection.

I walked out the door with the Italian Science Fiction Collection.

Two months later my head still hurts. (more…)

Before Monk was conquering the cable ratings (and then going back for leftovers on ABC), first-time director Jake Kasdan (Lawrence’s son) gave us an even more defective detective in Bill Pullman’s mercurial Darryl Zero. The DVD version of Zero Effect - a movie I’ve already waxed rhapsodic about in our Movie Reviews section - isn’t exactly loaded with freatures; indeed, a lot of its material about the making of the movie is in text form. (more…)

This set has pretty much been living in my DVD player since I picked it up last week. Granted, my young daughter really likes the music videos, but even without her influence, these discs stand up to heavy re-viewing. (And heavy reviewing, as the length of this piece should indicate…) I’m assuming, of course, that you liked Attack of the Clones in the first place; otherwise, even the entertaining and informative behind-the-scenes features won’t do much for you. (more…)

I’m going to save you a little bit of time here and make a rather brash statement - if you get only one DVD that has anything to do with the Beatles, Yellow Submarine should be it.

My mother, something of a retired hippie in sensibility if not in practice, introduced me to this bizarre gem of oft-imitated animation sometime around 1983. Not even in my teens, I drank it all in and gained an appreciation for the distinctly 60s design aesthetic that wasn’t so much represented as created by this movie, as well as a healthier appreciation for the music of the Beatles. (more…)

An 80s favorite that convinced many a kid with an Apple II that hacking was not only cool, but the chicks dug it, WarGames may also have the distinction of being Matthew Broderick’s finest hour (well, it sure as hell wasn’t Godzilla). Broderick fits the role of a proto-Wesley Crusher-esque, well-intentioned geek perfectly, and Ally Sheedy also gets a good outing with this one.

The DVD isn’t thick with features, but what features it has are good ones. (more…)

As I said in my review of Episode I, I enjoyed the movie. By no means is it perfect, and it probably ranks as my least favorite Star Wars movie, but to me that’s a lot like talking about my least favorite chocolate chip cookie. There must be folks who agree with me, given the rush of people who bought Phantom Menace on VHS and now on DVD - I’d hate to think they’re spending 20-25 bucks a pop on a movie they hate. Although even if you’re merely lukewarm toward the movie, the DVD is money well spent, so long as you’re a fan of behind-the-scenes and making of material. In that regard, I think this DVD sets the bar. There are hours of documentary and behind the scenes footage here. (more…)