Reviews written by Kevin
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Love Of Siam (DVD) (3-Disc Director's Cut) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version)
Love Of Siam (DVD) (3-Disc Director's Cut) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version) DVD Region All
(2)Our Price: US$55.99Related promotions:December 19, 2009 Something to AddI have to add this to my last review (and change my rating). I don't understand how this went over my head initially, but the movie is in the incorrect Aspect Ratio.
The listed Aspect Ratio is Full Screen, but it really should be Wide Screen. If this were pan and scan, it would be bad enough, but the DVD actually has the entire image condensed into a full screen image. This means the everything in the image appears thinner and taller than it should (IE, the characters suddenly have Goofy-like proportions) With a new release on Region 1, I can no longer recommend this DVD.
People who still own it should keep the third disc for the plentiful extras. But I plan on buying the Region 1 disc in time. Non-anamorphic Widescreen is Ok. Shoddy subtitles I can get over. But the incorrect aspect ratio is just unacceptable.
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Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete Box (Japan Version)
Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete Box (Japan Version)
(1)Our Price: US$186.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:September 19, 2009 The Kingdom Hearts Soundtrack to OwnThe Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete Box is a collection of music from the Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, and extra supplemental music. It is the definite Kingdom Hearts soundtrack to own up to now. Here are some things you should know going into buying this, however, since the entire collection is on the pricey side, which approaches $20 per disc if you include the shipping.
The Kingdom Hearts discs, 1 and 2, are just the original soundtrack with no new material.
The Kingdom Hearts II discs spam from discs 3 to 6. Originally, Kingdom Hearts II only took up 2 discs. This was because a few tracks were omitted. In addition, the music was not looped once as they were with Kingdom Hearts. Personally, I prefer that they loop at least once, to give you more of an opportunity to enjoy the music, rather than jumping from one theme to the next, sometimes in as little as 1:15. Omitted tracks were "Beneath the Ground", "Bounce o'Rama", "Byte Striking", and the pointless "Any Time Any Place".
The Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories discs are 7 and 8. For those who did not play Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, much of the music is simply resynthed versions of older music, mostly from Kingdom Hearts. The new music is mostly from cutscenes and the Castle Oblivion world. However, one of the most anticipated themes, "Namine" is finally given an official release, somewhat expanded upon from the 15 second ditty it used to be in the Game Boy Advance version.
Finally, disc 9 contains supplemental music that was used in the Final Mix and Final Mix+ versions of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II.
If you already own the Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II soundtracks, you should definitely consider whether the differences (or lack thereof) between this set and the soundtracks you own are worth the repurchase. If you don't know either, this your opportunity to own all of the music from the series up until now.
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My Girl (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version)
My Girl (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version) DVD Region All
(1)Our Price: US$14.99Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:1 people found the following helpful
September 3, 2009 Great Movie, Lackluster DVD"Fan Chan/My Girl" is one of the most amazing movies I've ever seen. It hits a lot of the right notes in makings its audience think back to their childhood. Some might say the movie is a little too specific to Thai children of the 1980's. But after watching this (as a Chinese American of the 1990's), I have to respectfully disagree. The basic elements are there: the play acting, the boys vs. the girls, the fickle mood swings, the joy of simply learning to ride your bicycle with no hands. While some things like the 80's Thai pop are a little less easy to relate to, it doesn't matter so long as the movie ties all the elements into an interesting story. And because the characters are interesting, the story is interesting. This movie, along with "Hormones" and "Dorm" have solidified Songyos Sugmakanan as one film director whose movies I'm going to follow as best as a non-Thai can.
My comment isn't all praise though. The movie is presented in widescreen format, but it is not anamorphic. That means the image is wide and you're not losing out, you know, black bars on top and bottom. But it's really designed for a full screen TV, something that is kind of dying out these days. And the image is a bit fuzzy at times. Finally, the supplemental materials are pretty much nonexistent. You basically just have the movie, the subtitles, and the chapter select. Still, the subtitles are (for the most part) well done so it's easy to follow the movie. For non-Thai speakers like myself who would just be happy to see the movie, I wholeheartedly recommend this Taiwan Version.
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drammatica -The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura- (Japan Version)
drammatica -The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura- (Japan Version)
(1)Our Price: US$37.49Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:August 10, 2009 Excellent Album for AnybodyI rarely say this about anything, but this is an album that really anybody who has played any one of the games featured in the album should get. Virtually all of the compositions and arrangements are good and enjoyable. I originally approached this album from the perspective of somebody who has only played the Kingdom Hearts series. But even without ever playing the other games, it is clear they are quality, especially tracks like "City of Flickering Destruction" or "Forgotten Wings". "The 13th Anthology" and "The Other Promise" are painful reminders of how powerful the music of Kingdom Hearts II could have been had a better synth system been used. If nothing else, drammatica is an example of how you don't have to have played a game (or perhaps even be a gamer!) to enjoy music from video games if it is done a certain way.
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Sanctuary / The Star Onions (Japan Version)
Sanctuary / The Star Onions (Japan Version)
(1)Our Price: US$36.49Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:1 people found the following helpful
June 4, 2009 Not Like "...Other Side of Vana'diel"In many of the wrong ways, Sanctuary is exactly what to expect. What made Music From the Other Side of Vana'diel such a pleasant surprise to listen to was some of the unique covers of music we were familiar with from the game, as well as the diversity: the quiet piano of Tavnazian Safehold, the pop of Moghouse, the surprising dance mix of Awakening, the Gospel sound of "Blessed in Her Glorious Light" (Jeuno's theme).
A lot of the strength of Sanctuary, however, is derived from the source material of all the songs. Voyager, Faded Memories- Promyvion, Flowers of the Battlefield, Mhaura, Gustaberg, and Rapid Onslaught- Assault- they all are practically the old tracks, just a little more authentic sounding. As a result, Sanctuary sounds as if it lacks a lot of the creativity of Music From the Other Side of Vana'diel, and loses points for why we would look forward to it in the first place.
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Love Of Siam (DVD) (3-Disc Director's Cut) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version)
Love Of Siam (DVD) (3-Disc Director's Cut) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version) DVD Region All
(2)Our Price: US$55.99Related promotions:February 7, 2009 Finally, an English Friendly Release (...sort of)I was pleasantly surprised to find that, what was initially described as a Region 3 NTSC release turned out to be a Free Region release, making this release the first DVD release accessible to English viewers. With the extras provided, I would've been glad to give the set a 10. However, the English subtitles are not without mistakes. Problems arise with the consistency in how character's names are spelled throughout the film ("Mew" and "Moug", "Tang" and "Hung"?). And the subtitles are sometimes ungrammatical English. This is typically characteristic of bootlegged versions of Asian movies. The only thing really distinguishing this from bootleg DVDs is the disc of supplemental materials provided (such as the promotional music video and stage performances). Therefore, I cannot give this release a 10.
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