The Pioneer LD-V4300D is a single-sided industrial PAL/NTSC Laserdisc player. Given the mediocre results of my testing the CLD-925D I wanted a better PAL player. I’d heard good things about both the CLD-2950 and LD-V4300D, but the CLD-2950 is getting a bit long in the tooth.
Since the LD-V4300D is an industrial model, and was made until very late in the Laserdisc lifecycle, I thought it might be a better bet, longevity wise.
Automata is a science-fiction thriller starring Antonio Banderas, available on iTunes in HD right now, and since it’s not available on Blu-ray yet, I thought I’d give it a review. Directed by Gabe Ibáñez, Automata is based on a script he co-wrote with Igor Legarreta and Javier Sánchez Donate. Made on a shoe-string 15 million dollar budget, Automata tells the story of beaten-down insurance agent Jacq’s (Antonio Banderas) quest to explain-away why his companies robots have been breaching their prime directive not to self-modify. Interestingly the film has been given an almost parallel theatrical and digital release on iTunes, which I always appreciate, since it’s increasingly difficult to get to the theater.
White Bird in a Blizzard is an adaptation of Laura Kasischke’s mystery slash coming-of-age novel written and directed by Gregg Araki, and staring Shailene Woodley as a teenager (and unreliable narrator) whose mother suddenly disappears. Since iTunes has a very cool pre-theatrical exclusive rental available right-now I thought I’d give it a review.