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The first Transformers movie was a huge hit and so it was natural that the studio would want to cash in on the new found popularity of the franchise. So this month sees the release of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on DVD and Blu-ray. So is it better than the first film? It certainly is bigger and louder and filled with even more of the over the top giant robots in disguise action of its predecessor. I don’t think that I can say it was any better, but it was at least as good, for the type of movie that it is. It is an action movie first and foremost and a science fiction story secondly.

All of the stars from the first movie are back. John Turturro, Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson all reprise their roles from the first Trnasformers movie, and all do a servicable job considering they often have to interact with their CGI co-stars. Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen was directed by Michael Bay, who also directed the original. Bay’s passion for big action movies and large explosions can again be seen throughout the movie.

Also, just for the record, I don’t think that it is necessary to have the robots use foul language. I understand that in the heat of battle and when everything is going up in flames, the soldiers and human characters would naturally use that sort of language, but the robots don’t need to. Anyway, the special effects are breathtaking and the film makers do a great job of bringing the action alive.

The plot of the movie feels a little forced, and doesn’t make much sense, but again, this should be expected when going to see a movie like this. If you are looking for a fun summer action movie then Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a great choice, if you are looking for an intellegent, thought provoking film then you should probably take this movie out of your shopping cart. Both the 2 disc DVD and Blu-ray versions of the movies come with great extras including making of specials and deleted scenes. The Blu-ray version also comes with a digital copy of the movie that you can watch on your computer or other handheld devices.

This movie is not quite as good as the first in the series and I am sure we will get to see if they put the story telling back together for the third one in a couple of years. I am sure they have already started working on it.

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Will Ferrell stars in this movie remake of the seventies classic TV show, The Land of the Lost. While it has some similarities to the classic show, Will and the gang put a different spin on the humor and the high jinks. Ferrell stars as Dr. Rick Marshall, a scientist that believes that time travel is possible and he wants to prove it.

Since many of the scientists, that work with Dr. Marshall, do not believe in the prospect of time travel, he is literally laughed out of his profession. Dr. Marshal then takes on a position in a middle school as a science teacher. While working as a teacher he meets Holly, and they become instant friends. Holly is behind Dr. Marshall’s idea of time travel and continues to encourage him to complete his work.

One night, after Dr. Marshall and Holly have gone on an eating binge, they decide to take the time travel device to a cave located in the desert. This cave happened to be a tourist trap run by Will, a flea market fireworks salesman. When Dr. Marshall tries the machine the three are launched into a completely different time dimension, complete with bizarre insects, lizard people, monkey people and a man eating dinosaur. The dinosaur and Dr. Marshall are instant foes and gives us one of the funniest on going gag throughout the film.

Almost as soon as they arrive they meet a monkey person named Chaka, played by Jorma Taccone from SNL. Chaka helps the group recover the time travel device, which went missing on arrival, so that they can return to their home. The trick to finding the device, however, is to survive the many hazardous encounters along the way.

While not the best movie of the summer, or Ferrell’s best work, I think that Elf was his best, this movie is fun and entertaining. McBride and Chaka provide some of the best laughs in the film and Ferrell does his best adolescent-grown-up routine. The special effect and CGI are good and show the wonder of the new world well. The lizard people are a little campy and cheesy, but I think that it is in homage to the classic show. There are a few extras on the disc worth checking out and anything that Ferrell puts any effort into is funny and silly. Though not the blockbuster they were hoping for, this is a pretty fun movie. It deserves its PG-13 rating and is definitely not for the younger viewers because of some of the references and language.

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Sony’s landmark handheld game console was first launched in 2004 and was the first to use an optical disc format. Other unique features include the large viewing screen, connectivity with the internet and other PSPs, including the PlayStation 3.

Initially Sony’s PSP was a poor second to Nintendo’s offering even though everyone acknowledged the formers better capabilities and computing power. A revamped, slimmer and lighter PSP was launched in 2007, which changed the sales imbalance substantially. Even though PSP was priced much higher than its nearest competitors, Sony’s brand image ensured that overall PSP was a success in whichever market it was sold. Altogether nearly 52 million units had been sold worldwide till March 2009.

There are 2 packs available in the market; the base pack contains the console, adapter and battery while the value pack includes, in addition to the components of the base pack, a 32 MB memory stick, carrying pouch, wrist strap and headphones with remote control. However limited editions of the PSP have been on offer at various times having other combinations as regards accessories, movies or games. With more than 10 colour combinations offer, purchasers have a wide variety of options to choose from.

The original 2004 PSP model has undergone various degrees of modifications in 2007 and 2008. The latest version, to be released in most markets later in 2009 has Bluetooth, smaller screen and weighs almost half that of the original model. The main buttons are protected due to the sliding mechanism, which can close when the PSP is not being used.

The PSP has a candy-bar format with 16.77 million colours and 480 x 272 pixel video playback capabilities. The 11 cm LCD screen dominates the face of the unit which also has 4 face buttons besides the directional pad, the nub and other buttons. Some other features include an infrared port, built in stereo speakers, headphone port, Wi-Fi for internet access, data transfer and multiplayer gaming. There are 2 CPUs and the original limitation in games running at 222 MHz was upgraded in 2007 to allow games to run at 333 MHz. The battery allows for 4 to 6 hours of play or 4 to 5 hours of video playback or 8 to 11 hours of audio playback.

The ‘System Software’ in the PSP has the ability to update itself directly from the internet or go through a computer by downloading from the official site and then transfer to a memory stick and then install in the system. This has enabled users to download Adobe Flash support, web browser, PlayStation connectivity, codecs for video, audio and images, etc.

Remote Play allows access to PlayStation 3 consoles from the PSP. This allows viewing of slideshows, listening to music and viewing photos. The PSP can control playback from PS3 to a home theatre system without using the television. The PS3 can also be turned on and off remotely. However some actions are not supported by the Remote Play function. VOIP service is also available on the latest models of PSP.

Since the time that the first PSP was introduced, what has captured the interest of many individuals isn’t the games that it offers, but instead its PSP UMD movie capability. It seems like there are many more movies that can be played on these systems than there are games and other PSP stuff. And the spin-off has been software programs that can convert movies into a format that’s playable on these systems, such as PSP Movie Creator.

But before long, folks mostly stopped buying the PSP UMD movies. This drop in sales caused the producers of these disks to cut back their inventory or even stop making them, as well as selling them at lower rates. What was the explanation for this unanticipated drop in sales? The reason is quite obvious really. What’s happening is that folks started downloading their PSP movies from the internet, just like they download other audio and video files. Why pay good money for something that’s freely available on the internet?

Unfortunately for the makers of PSP UMD movies, this is a situation they probably didn’t foresee. Just like the music industry slumped when digital downloads gained in popularity, the same has happened to PSP movies. There are now so many sites where you can get pirated copies of PSP UMD movies that it has affected the production of the hard product.

Some manufacturers have created promotional items such as older videos that were previously available only in obsolete formats such as beta, and offered them at a reduced price. A few producers even tried to set up sites where they charge a modest fee for streaming these movies. But it hasn’t made much difference to those who simply do not want to pay for their entertainment.

There are innumerable websites where you can get a movie converted into a format that can be played on your PSP, and then download it. And along with this easy accessibility to free movie downloads, there are also conversion programs you can buy that make it easier than ever to convert movies you already own into UMD format. Certainly this is against the law, but most folks don’t really care. And of course these files are shared freely online. When you have these kinds of options, there does not seem to be any reason to buy something that you can get free of charge.

So how do you solve the problem? Perhaps there needs to be an organization that monitors these illegal downloads. No doubt the movie manufacturers would like to be involved in something like this. Furthermore, it’s important that the laws against piracy are implemented more forcefully with wider coverage. Of course, it’s not challenging to dream up a solution, but implementing it is another story. If you want to do your bit to keep the PSP UMD movie industry alive, just pay for your movies instead of sharing them.

Since the inception of the PSP portable gaming system, it seems like people have been more fascinated by the fact that it can play PSP UMD movies, and not just games. Just consider that there are more of these movies available than there are games and other PSP stuff. Then there’s the popularity of converter programs such as PSP Movie Creator that can convert other formats to something that can be watched on your console.

However by early 2006, sales of PSP UMD movies and other similar products had decreased so much that the big manufacturers were slashing their production, selling the movies at a lower cost and even giving them away. The problem, however, wasn’t that folks weren’t watching the movies, it is just that they were finding another supply of them. The situation is quite similar to downloading songs and movies at no cost rather than buying the disk. It seems silly to spend money on something you can get at no cost.

The manufacturers of these digital PSP UMD movies clearly didn’t see this coming. The same thing occurred in the music industry when individuals started downloading songs, for which there were plenty of free sources. The increase in concealed and unlawful websites for PSP UMD movie pirating is the main cause of the industry slowdown.

Some manufacturers have created promotional items such as older videos that were previously available only in obsolete formats such as beta, and offered them at a reduced cost. They even tried to sell the movies for a reasonable outlay on their own websites. However even at a reduced cost, individuals still preferred to download their movies free of charge.

There are numerous websites where you can get a movie converted into a format that can be played on your PSP, and then download it. And it’s not just online that you can get these movies for free. You can purchase a software program that will effortlessly convert your regular movie files to PSP UMD format. Without a doubt this is against the law, but most folks don’t really care. Then they can upload their converted file and distribute it to anyone else who’s interested. With these kinds of choices, what’s the point of paying for them when they can be found at no cost?

It’s not easy to come up with a solution to this situation, but any measures to change things would have to involve some sort of law enforcement effort to search out and shut down these sites. This could be something that the big manufacturers would like to be involved in. As well, it is important that the laws against piracy are implemented more forcefully with wider coverage. Of course, it’s not difficult to come up with a solution, but implementing it is another story. If you want to do your bit to keep the PSP UMD movie industry alive, just pay for your movies instead of sharing them.