One of the Bruckhiemer classics, 'Con Air' is a fun action movie about a plane carrying a full load of the world's worst convicts to a new prison. Nicholas Cage joins the flight after doing time for an accidental crime, as he is on his way to freedom and his hot wife. Of course as luck would have it the bad guys get the better of the plane and take over it, lead by the brilliant John Malkovich as 'Cyrus the Virus'. Naturally Cage wants his freedom and is an all round annoying good guy who does his utmost to stop the baddies.

This movie contains some kick ass baddies alongside the virus including Ving Rhames and the irresistable Steve Buscemi as a total pyshco. John Cusack does a good job as well as the cop on the ground running the show, leaving Cage as probably the only annoying actor in the cast, with his over the top acting often giving me the shits. Besides that though this movie is full of action sequences and is heaps of fun.

The DVD has just been re-released and is in a nice widescreen format with a not bad quality image. The sound was loud through my head phones as I had the volume right up, but none the less was nice and clear. Extra features were pretty ordinary with the trailer plus a couple of documentaries, which were glorified movie promotion clips and not worth watching.

Overall an enjoyable movie for anyone who likes action flicks, and one I'm sure to watch a few more times.

I dont care what anyone says jacko will always be the Kink of Pop. I just finished watching his dvd 'HIStory on film' and was totally blown away. Now while recent years have put a more tainted view on 'the king' Michael Jackson, this dvd created in '97, covers all his stuff from the early years.

The first half (or side - this is a flipper boo!) has all the classics leading up to his album HIStory. From Billie Jean to Beat It to the real Smooth Criminal (no Alien ant farm bullshit here) the audience is delivered in loud (but no DTS or anything mindblowing) sound the REAL Jacko that changed the face of music. More than that are live performances as well as MTV clips that show this man's extraordinary talent as he totally destroys the dance floor both with his voice and his moves. This man truly is a genius and the DVD doesn't lack in quality picture or sound (especially considering it is 4 years old) showing what a superstar this man is, truly exposing the complete lack of talent the last few years have been left with in the world of pop.

Now while it is quite disappointing this disk is a flipper, and the fact the newer stuff on the second side doesn't even come close to the brilliance of the first side, the disk is definitely just worth a listen and a watch because it contains one of, if not the, greatest performers of how time. I have a number of music DVD's in my collection, and was a little reluctant at first to buy this, but in retrospect am glad at buying this because this captures MJ at his very best. Forget any of his recent shit, this disc is worth a watch for any one who has ever tapped a beat to any Michael song for the fact you will surprisingly enjoy and appreciate the King of pop. Shame they couldn't have squeezed a few extra features on the disc - maybe they'll consider this when they realease volume 1...

One of the greatest movies of the 1980's finally gets a look at on dvd,
and it is about time. The Goonies is yet another reason why today's film
makers should look at 80's cinema to see where they are going wrong. This
film has it all. Mystery, adventure, romance, comedy and of course, Chunk.

The Goonies are a gang of young kids who face the prospect of losing their
homes in order to make way for a golf course. In one of their last days
together before they are kicked out of their homes, moved away and never to
see each other again they manage to find an old treasure map that  apparently
shows the way to the legandary One Eyed Willy's famous treasure. They of
course emabark on the adventure to save their town. Along the way, they are
pursued by the Fratelli gang who also wish to get to the treasure.

On the surface, The Goonies sounds like a silly children's movie, but it is
so much more, a lot more. The key to this film's immortality lies in it's
characters. These are real kids. They give each other shit, are sarcastic as
hell and swear. They are not "golly gosh" kids. Who can forget one of the 80's
classic actors, Corey Feldman (Mouth) as a young boy, explaining to a mortified
non-english speaking house maid,  where the drugs are kept and to not go in
the attic as that is where the sex toture devices are. All in fluent Spanish.
Chunk doing the "truffle shuffle" is one of the most mesmerising scenes in
cinema history as we see blubber move up, down and all around. The breaking
of a statue leads to the glueing of it's dick up side down, pure hilarity.
Special mention of course must go the great character of Sloth, the
disfigured family member of the Fratelli gang. His bonding with Chunk is
beyond heart warming. He also kicks ass!!

The video on the DVD (2.35:1 ratio) is actually very good for a movie of
this age (1985). The detail is captured quite well and no major scratching
or specks are really prevalent throughout the film. The Goonies is another
older film recently released that shows how great DVD really is, and how
crap it is to watch such great films on video.

The audio, like the video, is also quite good for a film of this age.
Presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital, the sounds are well seperated and never seem
to conflict with each other. The rear speakers are used, but not too often,
and only at the appropriate times.

The Goonies has several great features, including a short behind the scenes
featurette (filmed at the time of shooting), trailer, the two part Cyndi Lauper
video (which is rediculous) with cameos by 80's wrestlers (including Andre the
Giant and the guy who had rubber bands on his face), and deleted scenes with
the infamous octupus scene (which was deservedly cut out). The real treat
though is the audio commentary which features all the seven kids and
director Richard Donner. This is a video commentary as well, the screen is
occasionally taken up with the image of the cast recording the track (during
these bits, the movie is shown in the corner at a smaller scale). To see these
now grown up actors  is fantastic, especially Corey Feldman and the slimmed down
Jeff Cohen (Chunk). The commentary is worth listening to just to hear the
great comedic moments provided by Feldman.

Overall, this DVD is a great treatment for such a classic movie. We finally
get to see this film in a great fashion and appreciate it even more. The
Goonies will certainly live on as yet another great piece of cinema from the
1980's.

First off, just to let you know,
Jar Jar Binks rocks!! He kicks ass!!
With that out of the way, on to
the review.

Star Wars: the Phantom Menace
introduces us to the Star Wars saga
and to all the characters that play
an important role to the story that
we are already familiar with (Ep 4-6).Not to go into too much deatil but the film follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon
Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they must enter into negotiations with the evil Trade Federation who have illegally occupied the planet Naboo, led by Princess Amidala. What they get mixed up in is a plot by an evil Sith Lord (the Phantom Menace), and his apprentice Darth Maul, to gather power throughout the universe. Along the way they encounter young
Anakin Skywalker, whom Qui-Gon believes to be the chosen one spoken of in Jedi prophecy. They also meet Jar Jar Binks, a clumsy Gungan who is an absolute dude.

The film is really to set up the entire story line for the entire saga. One of the bigger complaints is that characters seem very underdeveloped, we do not get
to learn about them, but hopefully that is just due to that this is the introduction and they will be fleshed
out more. Obi-Wan in particular does not do much for almost the entire movie, which is disappointing considering his importance to the whole saga. Jar Jar
Binks though is a fantastic character and it is a shame that we did not see more of him.

Technically speaking, especially the special effects, this film really does not yet have a peer and the film looks amazing, although sometimes a little too much is zooming
in and out of the screen.

The Video for the Phantom Menace is incredible, easily one of the best video transfers I have ever seen, if not the best. Several reviews thus far have said it is quite disappointing (this movie has had detractors about
everything thus far, it seems the dvd is not spared either) but from what I saw it was excellent. The clarity
is amazing and the beneficiary of that is the special effects. This is the most clear and precise I have ever seen these effects look (after seeing the film
26 times at the cinema on various screens and numerous times on video), Jar Jar and Watto look amazing,
the most realistic I have ever seen them.

The Audio for the DVD is beyond excellent. Absolutely no complaints at all. It seems that for almost the whole movie all the speakers are used, but never once does the sound conflict with itself, providing a full sound that constantly envelopes you, with you never knowing where it is specifically coming from. The pod race is of course, amazing as are the final battle sequences (in
particular, the lightsabre duels). This is by far the greatest DVD I have ever listened to. The subwoofer also gets a great working (especially when it is turned up and sitting behind your couch - the pod race never seemed so real). Not to be watched with headphones!!

The disc also comes with some of the best features ever released on a DVD. Some of what is included is a commentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum and many others, 17 short featurettes, a 1 hour documentary detailing the entire process of making the film, deleted scenes (with optional documentary), trailers, other promotional stuff and a few easter eggs.
The highlights are definately the deleted scenes,
which had to have their effects done from scratch (that alone shows the effort that was put into this disc). Also, the documentary titled "the Beginning" is a fantastic look
at the whole process of the movie from design,
casting and through to opening night. It is a shame it is only 1 hour long as it was taken from over 600 hours of behind the scenes footage.

Overall, the film is by no means perfect when comparing it to the original trilogy, but it is still a fantastic, fun film to watch. This DVD presentation makes it even more so.
If you do not have a surround sound system, buy one. If you do not have a DVD player, buy one. This is definately the film that makes spending all that money on equipment worthwhile.

JAR JAR BINKS RULES!!!!

Mesa Wuv You!!

First off, just to let you know,
Jar Jar Binks rocks!! He kicks ass!!
With that out of the way, on to
the review.

Star Wars: the Phantom Menace
introduces us to the Star Wars saga
and to all the characters that play
an important role to the story that
we are already familiar with (Ep 4-6).Not to go into too much deatil but the film follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon
Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they must enter into negotiations with the evil Trade Federation who have illegally occupied the planet Naboo, led by Princess Amidala. What they get mixed up in is a plot by an evil Sith Lord (the Phantom Menace), and his apprentice Darth Maul, to gather power throughout the universe. Along the way they encounter young
Anakin Skywalker, whom Qui-Gon believes to be the chosen one spoken of in Jedi prophecy. They also meet Jar Jar Binks, a clumsy Gungan who is an absolute dude.

The film is really to set up the entire story line for the entire saga. One of the bigger complaints is that characters seem very underdeveloped, we do not get
to learn about them, but hopefully that is just due to that this is the introduction and they will be fleshed
out more. Obi-Wan in particular does not do much for almost the entire movie, which is disappointing considering his importance to the whole saga. Jar Jar
Binks though is a fantastic character and it is a shame that we did not see more of him.

Technically speaking, especially the special effects, this film really does not yet have a peer and the film looks amazing, although sometimes a little too much is zooming
in and out of the screen.

The Video for the Phantom Menace is incredible, easily one of the best video transfers I have ever seen, if not the best. Several reviews thus far have said it is quite disappointing (this movie has had detractors about
everything thus far, it seems the dvd is not spared either) but from what I saw it was excellent. The clarity
is amazing and the beneficiary of that is the special effects. This is the most clear and precise I have ever seen these effects look (after seeing the film
26 times at the cinema on various screens and numerous times on video), Jar Jar and Watto look amazing,
the most realistic I have ever seen them.

The Audio for the DVD is beyond excellent. Absolutely no complaints at all. It seems that for almost the whole movie all the speakers are used, but never once does the sound conflict with itself, providing a full sound that constantly envelopes you, with you never knowing where it is specifically coming from. The pod race is of course, amazing as are the final battle sequences (in
particular, the lightsabre duels). This is by far the greatest DVD I have ever listened to. The subwoofer also gets a great working (especially when it is turned up and sitting behind your couch - the pod race never seemed so real). Not to be watched with headphones!!

The disc also comes with some of the best features ever released on a DVD. Some of what is included is a commentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum and many others, 17 short featurettes, a 1 hour documentary detailing the entire process of making the film, deleted scenes (with optional documentary), trailers, other promotional stuff and a few easter eggs.
The highlights are definately the deleted scenes,
which had to have their effects done from scratch (that alone shows the effort that was put into this disc). Also, the documentary titled "the Beginning" is a fantastic look
at the whole process of the movie from design,
casting and through to opening night. It is a shame it is only 1 hour long as it was taken from over 600 hours of behind the scenes footage.

Overall, the film is by no means perfect when comparing it to the original trilogy, but it is still a fantastic, fun film to watch. This DVD presentation makes it even more so.
If you do not have a surround sound system, buy one. If you do not have a DVD player, buy one. This is definately the film that makes spending all that money on equipment worthwhile.

JAR JAR BINKS RULES!!!!

Mesa Wuv You!!

The movie
12 monkeys is an interesting movie about people in the future who have been forced underground by a deadly virus, started in 1996. In order to help find the cure they send James Cole (Bruce Willis) back in time to find how the virus all started back in 1996. In this often bizarre, yet original movie Cole comes across a total looney in Jeffory Goines (Brad Pitt) - the guy with the funny eye, who seems to be behind the band of the 12 monkeys - a group who are linked to the virus. He also gets involved with a psychiatrist in Dr. Reilly (Madeleine Stowe), who helps Willis deal with his transistions between time, and his nightmares that continue to plague him. Terry Gilliam, most noted for his work on Monty Python movies, directs the time travel movie 12 Monkeys in an interesting and thought provoking way, creating a movie that will really make you think.

The DVD
The quality of the image seemed pretty good to me, although the colours were still a little drab, giving the movie the feel it was made in 1995. Whether this was done for this reason to keep with Gilliams stylistic approach to the movie is arguable, however I personally feel it adds to the whole madness of the movie and does not detract at all.

Sound
Through my headphones the sound was great. I can't really expand on that except that there was some interesting effects with the sound in the mental institution which I'd love to hear through a good system.

Extras
While this movie isn't filled with thousands of little extras it does contain the orginal trailer, cast bios, but most impresively an 87 minute documentary. This is a fantastic documentary which is made by independant film makers, following the highs and lows that the crew went through making the movie. This is a great watch, and almost a movie in itself, that I found very interesting, and not at all bias in any way towards the movie. There is also a commentary track by the director Gilliam, making the disk well worth its price tag.

Verdict
If you have seen this movie, and enjoyed it, then the DVD is definitely a good buy. I was more impressed after not been sure whether to buy this or not, and would at least recommend a watch to any one who has not seen this movie.

A great original watch, which may take more than once to pick everything up...

The movie
12 monkeys is an interesting movie about people in the future who have been forced underground by a deadly virus, started in 1996. In order to help find the cure they send James Cole (Bruce Willis) back in time to find how the virus all started back in 1996. In this often bizarre, yet original movie Cole comes across a total looney in Jeffory Goines (Brad Pitt) - the guy with the funny eye, who seems to be behind the band of the 12 monkeys - a group who are linked to the virus. He also gets involved with a psychiatrist in Dr. Reilly (Madeleine Stowe), who helps Willis deal with his transistions between time, and his nightmares that continue to plague him. Terry Gilliam, most noted for his work on Monty Python movies, directs the time travel movie 12 Monkeys in an interesting and thought provoking way, creating a movie that will really make you think.

The DVD
The quality of the image seemed pretty good to me, although the colours were still a little drab, giving the movie the feel it was made in 1995. Whether this was done for this reason to keep with Gilliams stylistic approach to the movie is arguable, however I personally feel it adds to the whole madness of the movie and does not detract at all.

Sound
Through my headphones the sound was great. I can't really expand on that except that there was some interesting effects with the sound in the mental institution which I'd love to hear through a good system.

Extras
While this movie isn't filled with thousands of little extras it does contain the orginal trailer, cast bios, but most impresively an 87 minute documentary. This is a fantastic documentary which is made by independant film makers, following the highs and lows that the crew went through making the movie. This is a great watch, and almost a movie in itself, that I found very interesting, and not at all bias in any way towards the movie. There is also a commentary track by the director Gilliam, making the disk well worth its price tag.

Verdict
If you have seen this movie, and enjoyed it, then the DVD is definitely a good buy. I was more impressed after not been sure whether to buy this or not, and would at least recommend a watch to any one who has not seen this movie.

A great original watch, which may take more than once to pick everything up...

Big Trouble In Little China finally gets a DVD release and is given a great treatment. Combining action, fantasy, romance and comedy (with tongue held firmly in cheek) the film is perhaps one of the silliest stories you will ever see delivered by the one of the kings of B grade entertainment (John Carpenter). God bless the 80's.

The main character is Jack Burton (played by Kurt Russell), a truck driver who gets caught up in a wierd advenure in San Francisco's China Town and goes on to help save the world from the evil forces straight out of Chinese mythology. This movie is fun, but is very typical of the sort of movies that became cult classics from this period. In fact most people would think this film is stupid, thus the reason for it's cult status.

The video for Big Trouble (presented in 2.35:1 screen ratio) is excellent, especially since this movie is 15 years old. Very few problems with the picture are visible at all, and it is quite obvious a genuine effort was undertaken to give it such a fresh feel.

The audio for the DVD is also above normal standards for a movie so old and clearly shows that great sound mixes can be achieved, even for older films. Present are both a DD 4.1 and DTS 4.1 mix which gives a greart surround experience, using the rears at the appropriate times. As this movie has a lot of special effects and explosions etc we are treated to a loud and busy film, although nothing drowns out anything else, with dialogue always being clear (which is great seeing as though the centre speaker is not used). The subwoofer gets a nice working also, which is great for big action movies.

This DVD has a quite a lot of features, most of which are found on the second disc in the set. These include deleted scenes (which as usual are quite boring), an old featurette and a lot on the special effects (narrated by head effects man, Robert Edlund). Also included is a commentary by Russell and Carpenter, which apparently, although I have not heard it yet, is one of the more enjoyable ones out there to listen to.

Overall, this DVD gives a great movie (for what it is anyway) a great presentation. Hopefully this will lead to more less popular films getting such a royal treatment for DVD.

I won't bother talking about the actual movies themselves as they are the greatest movies ever made and always will be. 'Nuff said. This review is only about the dvd's themselves.

"HHHRRRAAAWWW" Chewie wants real dvd's.

These are bootleg discs so to expect too much out of them would not be the greatest idea. Unlike many other bootlegs though, these have been taken off the laserdisc source and are actually quite good quality. Though not perfect, it is great to have the original versions on a digital format (not the special editions) and not have to suffer through watching them on video.

The video (presented in their original widescreen format, another bonus) for these dvds are definately a step above video casette quality, although not up to the standard of an actual dvd. From all three, Empire Strikes Back seemed to be the worst of them, with blacks especially not coming across very well with a lot of patchy lighter bits. Overall though, not too bad.

The sound on these discs are actually quite good. Though most of the sound comes through the front speakers, the rears are utilised, although only for the music and certain sound effects. These sounds are the same as what comes from the front though so a true surround sound experience is not provided. These are loud discs though, the volume does not have to be turned up very much to implement a hell of a lot of noise. The subwoofer also gets a nice working at the appropriate times, which is a nice surprise.

All discs actually have extras, with all providing original trailers and other interviews and behind the scenes features. The problem with these discs though was that they only worked properly on the Star Wars disc (which also had some short interviews with George Lucas), with the picture being heavily zoomed in and only able to see about half or less of the picture.

Overall, these are by far the best way to own the Star Wars Trilogy on dvd. As these will not come out until at least 2006 (and the chances of them being the non special editions being slim to none), you cannot go too wrong with these. Not as good as dvd, but way better than crappy video.

One of the better films released in the past 12 months, Traffic shows the far reaching effects that drugs have on society, and no one is immune to them, regardless of where your place in society is. This film follows several different characters through tightly interwoven story lines that incredibly manage to tie it all up without even being remotely confusing.

We follow the stories of the newly appointed drug czar and his family (including his daughter, who is spiralling into addiction). A drug lord, whose wife is forced to take over the business, and the cops who are after a conviction. And a honest Mexican cop who is doing his best to help in any way he can to help clean up the corruption of the local police.

The look of Traffic is quite stunning, with different lighting and film stock used to portray the different stories and situations in a way that seems to really fit the scene, while contrasting the different situations to give the feel of two totally seperate situations. The Mexico scenes stand out a lot in this way, with a very dirty film stock used, which creates a totally new atmosphere every time you wander into it. The film is also very much like a documentary with the whole film seemingly shot hand held and the editing quite jerky and abrupt.

The video on this dvd is excellent. The various colours used come through magnificently and there is no noticeable grain or scratches (apart from the Mexican scenes, which was made to look like that purposelly). Presented in 1.85:1 screen ratio, Traffic is definately a great disc to look at.

Although this has a DD 5.1 mix, the majority of the sound comes from the front and very little from the rear. As this is a dialogue driven movie for the most part, the rears are really not needed and therefore not missed.

No features are present on the disc, except for the theatrical trailer. No doubt there will be a super duper collectors version down the line.

Overall, Traffic is a great movie (which are becoming increasingly hard to find lately) and though the disc could have had a lot more on it, the movie is represented extremely well by it's great presentation.

American Graffiti is George Lucas' second major film (after THX1138) and like the hugely successful Star Wars, was extremely influential in changing how films were made in Hollywood.

The story follows four young men on a typical night in 1962, cruising in their cars and listening to rock n roll (the movie is very much a celebration of these things, which were prevalent at the time). The characters are very representative of everyday people from the nerd to the high school hero. The character that seems the most essential to the story though, is Kurt, who is struggling with the decision of whether or not to leave for college and move on in his life or stay and most likely never leave. This is a theme that Lucas focuses on a lot in his films, most notably Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, that manages to ground the film in reality. During the night, the characters are all faced with questions and dilemmas that will inevitably change the courses of their lives.

The film employed many ideas that were actually quite controversial at the time, but today are commonplace. These include using actual songs for the soundtrack instead of a musical score and intercutting several stories throughout the movie. Today, especially in teen movies, songs are a key part of the soundtrack but American Graffiti was the first to do this. Intercutting several stories at once was never done but today is done almost always, this influence can be seen from the Love Boat to Pulp Fiction. Visually, the movie is a treat to see. Lucas' intention was to make the movie look like a jukebox, which comes across throughout the movie as the bright colours of the cars shine out through the night time streets. The film is also quite grainy,due to the Techniscope cameras that were used, making it seem almost like a documentary following these characters around.

The video (presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio) holds up extremely well considering the age of the film (1973). Althoug it is very dark, this is due to the way the movie was shot, and not the transfer it self.

A DD 2.0 surround track is utilised for the movie, and comes off extremely well. Most of the sound comes from the front, but this is used effectively giving us a feeling of being there with the music fading in and out and moving from one speaker to the next with all the passing cars that are providing the soundtrack. The rears are used occasionally to give you the feeling of being surrounded by the music at the appropriate times.

The DVD contains an extremely engaging "making of" documentary that follows the film through the genesis of the screenplay to the time the film opened and the effect it had on Hollywood. Also included are a bios and the theatrical trailer.

Gremlins came out during the golden era of Hollywood, the mid to late eighties (most would dispute that, but it is fact) when unbelievable movies were being released at an alarming rate. Gremlins is not technically brilliant, the directors vision is not awe inspiring nor does it offer us any great social commentary. What it does offer us is a whole lot of gruesome fun. In fact, Gremlins was one of the first movies that blurred the line between comedy and horror. It was also one of the first movies to give us Corey Feldman.

The Gremlins, from which the movie is named, are horrific little creatures that evolve from the cute and furry mogwai when one of the three rules are broken pertaining to them. The first rule is no bright lights, it will kill them. The second rule is don't get them wet and the third is no food after midnight. Of course, all these rules are broken by Billy, the main character who is given a Mogwai, named Gizmo for Christmas,  (just to let you know, Gizmo rocks), and all hell breaks loose. What ensues is a whole lot of gruesome fun watching the Gremlins tear up the town and die in many disgusting ways. We also get to see Gizmo drive a pink Barbie car, what a dude.

 Gremlins has the sly humour that is no longer present in todays films, you have to look for it at times (which makes you appreciate it all the more) instead of having it shoved down your throat.

 The video for Gremlins (1.85:1 ratio) holds up quite well considering the movie came out in 1984 and was also one of the earlier DVD releases. No excessive specks or scratches are really evident throughout.

The sound presented in DD 5.1 is adequate although most of the audio comes mainly through the front, with the rears rarely being used. Having said that the sound is very clear, with dialogue coming through quite well over all the explosions and other loud noises.

This disc has no features, which is a shame considering how popular this movie was in its time (and today) and the talents that were involved (especially Corey Feldman).

I could write a bullshit review on how this movie is really about the desires of four boys yearning to reach manhood through a collective effort with the ultimate goal of losing their virginity, but I won't. This movie owes a lot to the great John Hughes movies of the eighties and even more so to the movie that started off the whole teen/sex romp movie, Animal House. It succeeds in joining their rank as an instant comedy classic. The characters of American Pie are really what makes this movie so great. Jim, the out of luck ladies man. Stiffler, the biggest asshole imaginable. Oz, the strong, silent type and Finch, the wierd guy. Only Kevin, who just plain sucks, does not leave an impression on the movie. Stiffler though is the one who really steals the show with his obnoxious behaviour that is so out of bounds at times that it is impossible not to laugh. Pie is a movie that can be watched countless times and can still be counted on to find something new to laugh at with lines a plenty (essential to a comedy of this nature) that, at least in the laughs department,  keeps it in pace with the greats of this genre.

The video of this film (presented in 1.85:1 ratio) is by no means spectacular but is more than adequate, although it appears to be quite dark at times.

The sound is very much like the video, adequate. With a film like this though, great sound  is not particuarly needed and the only time the rear speakers are ever really utilised is during the party scenes.

The extras provided do not amount to too much, with the commentary standing out the most. The commentary features the writer, producer, director and a few of the boys (including Sean William Scott, who pulls the same kind of jokes as his character Stiffler does). Also included are a music clip and short featurette. As this is the unrated edition, one would expect to see a bit more naughty stuff, but it really applies to the US theatrical cut which had less than we did and the fact that you see a horizontal version of the famous pie scene, no real difference.

Overall this is a great dvd purely for the movie alone, which in that case makes it a must for any collection.