Entertainment
Entertainment Picks (June 19, 2009)
4 Things to check out this weekend
Tornado Hunter
By Stefan Bechtel with Tim Samaras
Hardcover, 272 pages ($24)
Amazon 1426203020
While most people take shelter from a storm, a handful of others try to get as close as possible—especially when it involves the most violent, freakish windstorms on Earth. The United States has more tornadoes than any place in the world, and “tornado hunters” are passionate in their quest to learn more about them. Come along for the windy ride with these wild tales of close encounters with funnel clouds, a look at the men who chase them and an explanation of what makes tornadoes so destructive, deadly…and fascinating.
—Neil Pond, American Profile
Live at the
Meadowlands Frank SinatraCD
($18.98)Amazon B001RTCOZ2
One of Ol’ Blue Eye’s most sought-after live recordings, never commercially available until now, has finally been re-discovered, re-mastered and released by his estate. Taped in 1986 in front of a revved-up “homecoming” crowd inside New Jersey’s legendary Meadowlands arena, it’s a tuxedo-smooth, jazzy-snazzy swagger through “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “New York, New York,” “For Once in My Life,” and 16 other tunes spanning a career that by then had stretched across four decades—a Sinatra smorgasbord!
—Neil Pond, American Profile
American Originals
DVD ($99.95)
Amazon B001IB2ZB2
They’re part of a new breed of hero—men whose “extreme,” dangerous jobs have made them stars on reality TV. This muscular box practically oozes testosterone with 14 DVDs featuring the entire first seasons of the History Channel’s “Ice Road Truckers,” “Ax Men” and “Tougher in Alaska,” plus eight episodes of “Dangerous Missions,” which profiles rescue swimmers, hostage negotiators, U.S Marine Raiders and others who put their lives on the line for the greater good. As the tag line says, America’s frontier never closed—it just got tougher.
—Neil Pond, American Profile
The Norman Lear Collection
DVD ($159.95)
Amazon B00227A7V6
What do “All in the Family,” “Good Times,” “The Jeffersons,” “Maude,” “One Day at a Time,” “Sanford and Son” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” have in common? They were all created by legendary producer Norman Lear, whose master’s touch broke new prime-time ground with controversial subjects, unforgettable characters and some of TV’s most memorable moments of the ’70s. This television treasure trove includes all first-season episodes of all seven of those Emmy-winning shows, plus six hours of interviews and featurettes, and the never-released “All in the Family” pilot. Those were the days, indeed.
—Neil Pond, American Profile
- Entertainment
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Entertainment Picks (July 30, 2010)
Extraordinary Measures,
Doo Wop,
Jesse James’ Hidden Treasure
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Entertainment Picks (July 23, 2010)
The Karate Kid/The Karate Kid II Collector’s Edition,
The Devil Can Ride,
Alice in Wonderland
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Entertainment Picks (July 16, 2010)
Rock Shrines,
Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites,
The Leaders We Deserved (And A Few We Didn’t)
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Entertainment Picks (July 9, 2010)
Steven Seagal Lawman: The Complete Season One,
I’ll Wait in the Car,
Twistable, Turnable Man: A Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein
Various artists -
GAMETIME: Split/Second
As we all know, racing involves drivers competing against each other at breakneck speeds in usually fragile cars. One wrong move can send one of these cars spiraling out of control and seriously ruin somebody’s day. If that doesn’t sound dangerous enough, the team behind the new racing game Split/Second decided to make your greatest enemy the tracks themselves. The premise behind Split/Second is simple: the titular show decides to rig racetracks with explosives and traps. The drivers can activate these tracks periodically throughout the races, to either destroy the other racers or alter the course. And of course, all of this resulting chaos is filmed and put onto the television. Big booms equal big ratings, right? It’s here that Split/Second runs into its biggest and most disappointing flaw: the only time you’re reminded that you’re racing for a show is the occasional announcer between episodes in the career mode. While this doesn’t hurt the gameplay in any real way, the game could’ve really benefited from announcers commenting on the chaotic races. It was a missed opportunity to not provide any witty or humorous voice-overs.
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Entertainment Picks (July 2, 2010)
The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science,
The A-Team: The Complete Series,
Letter to Heaven: Songs of Faith and Inspiration
Dolly Parton -
Entertainment Picks (June 25, 2010)
Pop Memories of the ’60s,
Edge of Darkness,
Under the Neon Sky
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Entertainment Picks (June 18, 2010)
Valentine’s Day,
Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker-In-Training,
The Sundance Kid,
NOW That’s What I Call the USA: The Patriotic Country Collection
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GAMETIME: Final Fantasy XIII
The Final Fantasy series has always been known for its stellar production values, brilliant storytelling and interestingly varied cast of characters. I’m talking about the “main” Final Fantasy series, the ones with the roman numerals, not the vast number of spin-off series that these games have started. Square Enix’s amazing work has earned them a large number of devoted fans, fans who eagerly look forward to the next title in the series; such as the recently-released Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix has outdone itself with this latest title, which is easily apparent as soon as you boot up the game and the intro video gushes out of your TV screen. They make full use of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3’s graphic power to bring you a beautiful game, just like they used to with the PlayStation 2. If you aren’t playing this on a high-definition television, you’re definitely missing out on one of the best-looking games out there.
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Entertainment Picks (June 11, 2010)
Record Store Days,
Saving Private Ryan,
Life
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Entertainment Picks (July 30, 2010)
