"FREEJACK" stars Emilio Estevez, and while that alone may make the film appear "dated", it's still great entertainment!  The convoluted plot his about a race car driver(Estevez) careening to his death at the beginning of the film.  Well, that's what we think!  But, in reality, his body has been transported a second before his actual demise, into the future.  Futuristic technology allows for rich, older people to salvage themselves by transplanting themselves into the body of another.  Estevez breaks free of this death sentence, and that's what the rest of the film is about.  Along the way he seeks and gets help from his former love interest, Rene Russo, and her boss, Anthony Hopkins.  The film is extremely silly at times.  Mick Jagger isn't a great heavy, though he certainly tries.  Still, the action is great and the editing makes this a fast-paced film, not giving one time to recognize all the flaws in logic.

The transfer is outstanding. WARNER BROS. has really cleaned up the image in comparison to the laserdisc.  Everything glistens here!  There's great color values, no artifacting anywhere, and the fleshtones are perfect.

WARNER BROS. is regularly remixing films from the '90s with new dolby digital 5.1 tracks, and for the most part, it's terrific.  "FREEJACK" is a testament to how well re-mixing can work!  There's great directional effects throughout the film, and the rear speakers are extremely active.

"KELLY'S HEROES" is one of those older Eastwood films that still holds its own, and it's never looked or sounded better than in this new dvd presentation from WARNER BROS.  Eastwood stars as the WW2 misfit who finds out about a fortune in gold bars that's hidden away by Nazis.  He decides to enlist the aid of other soldiers, including Don Rickles and Donald Sutherland, in robbing the loot with the aid of huge tanks.  While there's great action, there's also a great deal of laughs also, making this a film for repeated viewings.

The 2.35:1 (16:9) enhanced picture looks glorious here.  Sure, there's some signs of aging, but for the most part it's splendid!  Fleshtones are accurate, color values are high, and there's no artifacting anytime in the film!  The contrast is nearly flawless as well, in spite of some minimal grain.  The dolby digital 5.1 sound "re-mix" provides for some directional effects, but it's limited in comparison to most "5.1" action films, with minimal LFE effects.

"ANY GIVEN SUNDAY" is certainly one of the best looking and sounding dvds to come out this year!  First of all, the film's terrific!  Even though it's a bit too long, the pacing, acting, direction, and visual style make a sports-theme move accessible to everyone!    Pacino stars as the coach of a team plagued with inner turmoil.  While trying to conquer his own demons, he has to battle the new owner(Cameron Diaz) in a surprisingly effective performance, as well as the team's doctor(a smarmy James Woods) and many others!  The film explores many issues, truly detailing the ways in which football is a smaller display of what lies off the field in life!  The supporting cast is wonderful, and Stone brings a confident, aggressive style of filmmaking to this, making it as intense as the game itself!

The dvd transfer is flawless!  I've never seen a better looking image.  The 16:9 enhanced 2.35:1 image almost jumps off the screen.  Every scene has incredible definition and "no" artifacting anywhere!!!

The dolby digital 5.1 sound mix is demonstration quality, offering non-stop directional and atmospheric effects!  Every speaker gets a work-out here, and we're not kidding!!!  The LFE track provides some of the best kick to a subwoofer we've ever heard, allowing for the bone-crunching movements on the field to play really well in an enclosed home theater environment.  A music video is included.  Also, this is supposed to be an "expanded" director's cut, but WARNER BROS. didn't mark any of the chapter wherein the new footage is placed, as they have done so in the past, so it's disappointing in this case only.

Barry Levinson's newest look at the American Family is "LIBERTY HEIGHTS".  While critically acclaimed, it tanked at the box-office and we're pleased that this exceptional film has been given a new lease on life with the exquisite dvd presentation offered via WARNER BROS.

Levinson explores American culture, music, and sub-cultures, all while focusing on a Jewish family in Baltimore circa 1954.  As the main character explains to his family he'd never seen white bread before eating at a "gentile's house".  The film doesn't deal with alienation, as in the families of the jews depicted here, prejudice doesn't exist when you don't know a world outside the family.  Of course, prejudice is explored brilliantly, as is anti-semitism, and other themes that attack the nation as a whole in this period.  But, Levinson allows for the sweetness of youth to reveal itself too, in brilliant moments.  A rich kid tries to help out a jewish kid after his own girlfriend,...etc.,etc.  The movie has a feel of its own, and viewers will likely embrace it, not wanting it to end when the film's over.

The transfer looks wonderful.  While soft in spots, it has great clarity and color values are perfect!  The dolby digital 5.1 sound is also wonderful, allowing for a great music track to permeate through all the speakers, while directional effects are minimal. The music track is also presented on an isolated track in dolby digital 5.1 sound.  There's a brief featurette, which is mostly promotional.  But another short supplement allows for cast members to define their characters in the film, and it's excellent!

Ernest Tidyman, responsible for writing "THE FRENCH CONNECTION" also wrote "SHAFT".  While few know this fact, fewer probably know he, a white, won the NAACP award for his work.  "SHAFT" is confusing to label.  Is it blacxploitation, or just fun?  We think both, and it's worth seeing, over and over!  While all three "SHAFT" films have been released by WARNER BROS. on dvd, we found the original to be the best.  The plot delves into the criminal underworld wherein a no-good pimp goes to SHAFT to rescue his kidnapped daughter from "worse?" gangsters, the MOB!   There's a lot of action, designed to move the film from one scene to another, but also to define the main character.  He has no problems throwing someone out a window!  More of a character study than action/drama, it works well on various levels.  Looking back now, it's one of the few films revealing a particular side of exploitation in studio releases, without succumbing to it.

The WARNER BROS release is not without problems.  The transfer is grainy!!!  REALLY GRAINY!  Still, it looks better than any other presentation we've seen since its theatrical run, and even the master print is probably grainy.  Fleshtones are fine and color values are generally good.  The mono sound is fine, highlighting the theme that is still remembered practically everywhere today!