Final Four

Final Cut Express 4
$199.00
I haven't had a chance to grab into all the features but it is immediately apparent that this is a highly functional product. For the hobbiest who just want to shoot a few family flicks, this product may be a little too challenging and not worth the price but for the individual who wants the feel of a professional operation, this is an ideal offering. It does have a rather steep learning curve and I would recommend using either the available tutorials or looking into a purchased instruction. It will be difficult to get the most from the product without some help.

Read through the other reviews before you purchase. They were right on!

2009 Men's Official Final Four DVD- UNC National Champions- Complete Game
$24.95
I have to agree with the others. This is a sloppy, slapped-together production. You can tell CBS had no interest at in anything other than getting it out the door so they could start collecting money. As others mentioned, the menu is messed up, the "highlights" are strung together with no rhyme or reason or commentary and the final game is presented in the crudest possible way, starting immediately on the tip-off and containing nothing at all to set the scene or to follow up beyond the briefest possible presentation of the awards. They don't even include CBS's treacly "One Shining Moment." Although the semi-final games are presented in the briefest possible time, at least they contain player and coach introductions that give some flavor for the live telecasts. Finally, the video quality is barely a step above non-HD broadcast quality; certainly not DVD quality. I should have recorded the DVR recording I made from the HD broadcast--it would have been leagues better than this p***-poor production. CBS should be ashamed.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
$19.99
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

The PSP hasn't had too many notable breakthroughs in the past few years and has clearly been in a fight for its life as the Nintendo DS continues to flourish. However, as the Xbox has shown us with the phenomenal success of Halo: Combat Evolved, one game can be the ticket to victory or just another limp paddle stroke along the slowly moving river. Does Crisis Core prove to be the PSP's bread and butter or another nameless title to be left in the dust?

Crisis Core offers the same tickles and thrills of a fan fiction story line. It incorporates most of the cast from Final Fantasy VII and adds a few forgettable new ones. Following the exploits of Zack Fair, the game sets the scene for those of you who have or are about to play the original Final Fantasy VII. It's interesting to see Cloud out of the limelight for once, and have the focus redirected on a more energetic, optimistic and let's face it, overall better protagonist. Aside from the fan favorite characters, Crisis Core experiments with adding some new faces to the legendary title. The first unmemorable face is Zack's mentor, Angeal. Angeal is a wise, reserved soldier who tries to impart his wisdom onto Zack and as a result ends up frustrating the vibrant youth and forcing the player to continue pressing the "skip scene" button. Cissnei, a Shinra turk, is yet another among the forgotten, acting as a secondary and painfully unnecessary love interest. Most of Cissnei's dialogue is like butchered Shakespeare, out of breath, rushed and no where near poetic. Honestly, if Cissnei as a romance was that important to Square Enix the writers should have invested more thought into her or not had her in the plot at all. Of course not all of fresh characters go by the wayside, in fact one sprite in particular contributes a brilliant performance and the cornerstone conflict of the story. Genesis, is arguably the main antagonist of Crisis Core, and gives the original Final Fantasy VII villain, Sephiroth, a run for his money. Misunderstood, bitter, and a man of artistic words, Genesis steals the show as a truly complex, mysterious and intriguing character who leaves the player to speculate if his motives are really right or wrong. But, if you are like most veterans of the series, you are purchasing this game for one and only one reason, to have another show down with the menacing First Class Soldier, Sephiroth. Sephiroth takes second fiddle this time around and acts more as a morally conflicted partner than an actual "villain". I often found myself waiting and watching for Sephiroth's epic fall to the dark side, much like anticipating Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader in the Star Wars series. However, I felt somewhat cheated. Sephiroth's fall was portrayed way too fast and resulted in an uninspiring, yet expected, show down with Zack at the foot of Jenova.

While the story may be a hot/cold experience for most, the one solid thing about Crisis Core is the gameplay. Mirroring similar traits from Final Fantasy XII, Crisis Core has the protagonist roaming around the battle field selecting attacks from a menu located in the bottom right corner. While this gameplay was not well received by the gaming community, I personally think it is a huge feat for a portable game. All the traditional aspects of an RPG are here. Magic can be quickly selected and thrown at enemies and heavy physical attacks, though time consuming, result in a rewarding blow. Overall, the game is merely a fast fingered traditional RPG that allows the player more freedom in dodging enemy attacks (Finally!).

Crisis Core doesn't only succeed in gameplay, but in the visual field as well. The environments in the game are astounding, delivering the nostalgic and beautiful ambience of the original title, revamped spectacularly taking advantage of the PSP's impressive graphics. From character models to high-action battle effects, the visuals in Crisis Core put PS2 graphics to shame. In particular, Square Enix's mastery of the CG rendered clips are well worth the price of admission alone.

Lastly, the audio in the game can be viewed as a mixed experience. While the music is extraordinarily composed and adds unparalleled intensity to battle sequences and complete despair in those unexpected plot twists, the voice acting just can keep up with the pace. It isn't always the voice actors' fault, but downright ridiculous and often embarrassing dialogue. The actors did the best the could with what they were given, but most times it seems like all the good lines were given to Genesis. Don't get me wrong, the story still isn't that bad, but just beware. You'll have to suppress some of those corny scenes from your memory to enjoy the plot thoroughly.

Altogether, Crisis Core is one of the best portable experiences on the market today and is well worth those twenty some hours it takes to complete. The story is interesting, the gameplay innovative, visuals breathtaking and the sound up to par with other titles in circulation, make Crisis Core a definite success for the PSP and another compelling chapter in Final Fantasy VII mythology.

Bernstein: The Final Concert
$16.98
Like one of the earlier reviewers, I bought this CD as a memorial and expected the performances to sound as frail as Bernstein looks on the cover. It's a tragedy that emphysema and a lifetime of smoking could cause such deterioration in someone just past seventy. But musically this is first-rate Bernstein, somewhat slow in the Beethoven, but no more so than Klemperer and with much better playing from the BSO than Klemperer ever got from the Philharmonia. Nothing in even the slowest passages is ponderous and much is deeply felt. The Britten is searingly emotional and elevated the Four Sea Interludes into an expressive realm I had never experienced, even from the composer himself. In all respects the two pieces on this splendid and moving CD exemplify why Bernstein, among all American conductors, is the only one to enter the pantheon.