- Describe your age.
I'm sure I haven't left my mid-twenties... it's not something I planned on, that's for sure. What do you mean it's my 30th birthday soon?
- Where were you five years ago?
Living in North Melbourne and dealing with the challenges of getting a new dialup internet helpdesk running. In my spare time I was spending crazy amounts of my hard-earned cash on growing a DVD library and paying for the home theatre system to enjoy it on.
- Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Sleeping :)
Seriously, I don't know - we'll see what life brings me.
- What's a good night's entertainment for you and your friends?
A darkened room, a cheesy movie (that hopefully everyone has seen), plenty of munchies for all. The movie begins, and so do we, bagging the effects, the plot, adding our own dialogue, and having fun corrupting the film in ways that would probably make the creators cry.
- What got you into DVD and how long ago?
The Blues Brothers. I love this film, it is one of my all-time favourites, and at one stage I was involved with the Valhalla/Westgarth Blues Brothers, who'd perform their wacky antics to the film each and every month.
When I heard there would be a release of this film with all of the original footage that was cut from the final release, I simply had to have it. Having it of course necessitated having a DVD player to watch it with. December 1998, I bought a Creative DVD kit so that I could watch my first 5 DVDs (Blues, Blues 2000, The Big Hit, Dark City, Fifth Element). Now, my collections somewhere over 350 titles, and I'm onto a second receiver (having missed out on DTS with my first amp by about 6 months) to enjoy them all on. These little shiny discs are evil. :)
- What do you love about DVD?
Top of my list would have to be clarity - for those titles that have gotten it right, anyway. For me to be able to sit down and watch an image that is as clear, if not clearer, than what can be seen in a commercial cinema simply blows me away. And it won't get any worse by just watching it. Of course, audio goes hand in hand with this, but requires a little more outlay of money on behalf of the viewer.
Good quality extras are another favourite for a movie fan. It's nice seeing what happens when the camera's aren't rolling, and to know why certain decisions were made during the process.
- Given the advances in DVD over the past few years, does the format still surprise you and why?
Maybe not the format itself, but definitately the work that goes into restoring some of the films that have been transferred to DVD. There are a lot of titles out there where you can see the care and love that have gone into making it look as good as it can get. Seeing a pristine version of a film that predates DVD still surprises. On the flip side, seeing a bad transfer of film that was made after DVD became common surprises me, though not in a good way.
- What title in your collection do you use to introduce friends and family to DVD and why?
If I want a loud and viloent demonstration, I generally use Starship Troopers, The Fifth Element (R1), or TopGun as they look good, and pack a loud punch. For a quieter demonstration, it's usually A Bug's Life or Dragonheart that gets a workout. Of course, all of these wouldn't be necessary if StarWars: A New Hope were available. :)
There are a couple of points that decides what will be suitable for a demonstration title: is the disc quality good (duh!), and has my audience seen the film before. If they are already familiar with the film, the can concentrate less on what is happening and notice how good it looks and sounds instead.
- Outside of DVD, what keeps you entertained?
A lot of my time outside of work hours goes into playing EverQeust as part of the guild Cold Fury.
- Have you ever met someone famous before and/or wish to meet someone famous?
My brushes with fame have been fairly brief. A couple of years ago I met Robert Llewellyn (Kryten from Red Dwarf) and Claudia Christian (Ivanova from Babylon 5), but "meet" was about all it was... although Claudia did ask if this was my real hair colour - maybe I missed an opportunity.
When I was much younger I got to perform with Zig and Zag during one of their shows at Highpoint Shopping Centre. I was brought up on stage and decked out to be a little Zig... or was it a little Zag?
- What is your current method of transport and what would you like to upgrade to?
Currently I'm riding a Honda CBR 600 F4i (that's a sportsbike for those that don't speak the lingo), it's all about the acceleration and agility.
- What is your favorite recipe/meal/take-away?
Just about anything to do with chicken - roasted, barbecued, fillets, whatever... mmmmm, chicken.
- What is the only joke you seem to remember when people around you are telling jokes?
That's a hard question to answer - it depends on the jokes that are being told as to what gets triggered in my memory. I do have the everpresent urge to pun when possible though - and remember, a groan is the highest form of praise for a pun.
- Can you juggle? Can you juggle knives? Can you still juggle?
In my experience it seems most people with computer related degrees can juggle to one degree or another.
- What are the most memorable nicknames you've had in your lifetime?
In the order they were acquired: Red, Delwyn, apm, Tailboy, Boppin.
- What was the first video game you fell in love with, on what machine? What is your favourite now?
First "best game ever": Ghostbusters on the Commodore 64.
Currently hooked on EverQuest
- What are your favourites? (Music, movies, books, anything!)
Movies: Blues Brothers, Star Wars (4-6), The Replacements, Josie and the Pussycats.
Television: Babylon 5 - no television series has ever been this respectful to its viewers.
Music: Pop Will Eat Itself, Dire Straits, Cosmic Gate, DJ Scott Project, Infected Mushroom.
Books: Roger Zelazny, Alfred Bester.
- What DON'T you like about DVD?
You mean other than the content that hasn't been released yet?
I'll keep the list brief: badly placed layer changes; discs with bad transfers (fortunately decreasing in number); not receiving the film as originaly released (wrong ratio, edited/censored, etc).
| Andrew's recent reviews:
L/R - Licenced By Royalty: Mission File 1 - Deceptions
"I wanted to like Licensed by Royalty... but there was just something missing."
Xena: Warrior Princess - Season 5
"...everything you've come to love and expect from Xena, on 6 discs."
Nightbreed
"Sometimes, the scariest monsters are the ones that look just like us."
Dark Star
"More evidence that the inhabitants of the '70s shouldn't be allowed in space."
The Hunted (1995)
"Not just another B movie... but Lambert still can't escape the sword wielding roles. Definitely worth a look."
Martian Successor Nadesico 1 - Chronicle 1
"The strangest collection of misfits to ever have been put in charge of a battleship."
Highlander - 15th Anniversary Edition
"If there can be only one, why does it feel like we're only getting 0.8?"
Dragnet
"The review you are about to read is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. *dum-da-dum-dum*"
March Of The Wooden Soldiers
"One of Laurel and Hardy's most loved films brought to DVD... not too bad an effort for a film that's almost 70 years old."
Scorpions - Acoustica
"The world's most successful German rock band performs live in Portugal, minus their electric guitars, for an intense and emotional show."
List all Andrew's reviews |
