DVD review: In Search of History - Navajo Code Talkers (History Channel)

Genre: Historical documentary

Navajo code talkers were a group of Navajo marines who used their obscure language to create one of the only unbroken ciphers of world war 2. These men and their code played a crucial part in America's victory over the Japanese in the Pacific.

The documentary is extremely well presented. It explores the history of the Navajo. Sadly the recent history of the Navajo was persecution and horrific treatment at the hands of white settlers. Despite this treatment, when the US was attacked the Navajo rushed to volunteer.

The documentary goes on to explore the development of the cipher and its deployment in battle. It also touches on the discrimination that was rampant in the US around that time and how that meant the Navajo did not get the recognition that they deserved.

The documentary is presented with the help of interview of some the Navajo survivors. One of the daughters of a Navajo code talker, who now is a historians about this code, gives further insights and information.

An extremely interesting documentary, well worth watching.

Rating: 5 / 5. Great. Highly recommended.

DVD review: National Geographic: Everglades - America's Wild Spaces

Genre: Nature show.

The Everglades are subtropical wetlands located in the south of Florida. Everglades has a large amount of biodiversity and hence should make for a interesting nature show.

Just like most of the worlds natural habitats the Everglades are threatened by human settlements and human tampering of the ecosystem. The DVD touches on this and explains just what has been done to threaten the Everglades. It also touches on the restoration and conservation efforts that have started.

A fair bit of the DVD is spent following a German photographer, who is kayaking in the Everglades for the first time. Other times we are introduced to various biologist who are studying the Everglades, both to understand the natural system and also to see how best to conserve it.

Unfortunately not enough time was spent actually looking at the various plants and animals in the Everglades. The biologist are interesting enough, however the time spent following the German photographer is boring. The DVD is still interesting from time to time, since the Everglades is interesting. However by not showing enough nature this DVD is firmly in the average category.

Rating: 2.5 / 5, Average.

DVD review: The end of the line, where have all the fish gone ?

Genre: Documentary about declining fish population.

This is a documentary about overfishing and how that is depleting the worlds fish stock to unsustainable levels. The documentary looks at the history of large scale fishing and its effect on various fish species. It also gives us some views on what could be done to avoid this decline.

The movie is aimed at encouraging consumer activism, and that is all well and good. I can't imagine somebody who does not care about conservation, reading the description of this movie and picking it up. However the creators of this documentary, from time to time make stuff over dramatic.

One of the ways they try to ratchet up the drama is by showing fish being butchered in a gory manner. That I felt was just muddling the message, were they encouraging conservation or were they trying to turn people into vegans.

All in all though the documentary is informative. I was startled to discover that when I choose farmed fish in a grocery store, I wasn't really buying something sustainable. While the creators could have done a better job, it is still a documentary worth watching.

Rating: 3 / 5, Recommended.

DVD review: Battlestar Galactica - The complete series review

Genre: Science fiction.

Boxset info: This is a revamp of the original BSG. The entire BSG run encompassed, a mini series, 4 seasons and a mid season movie "Razor".

In terms of boxsets these would be:
Battlestar Galactica: The complete series - Includes everything.

Or in terms of individual seasons:
Battlestar Galactica - Season One - Includes the miniseries and season 1
Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0 - Half of season 2.
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.5 - The concluding half of season 2.
Battlestar Galactica - Season Three - The complete 3rd season.
Battlestar Galactica - Season 4.0 - Includes the movie "Razor" and first half of season 4.
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 - The concluding half of season 4.

Whether you like this series or not will depend on what you expect from your TV shows. If you expect logical conclusion and plot lines to be tied up, there is a good chance you will hate this show. If having drama and good acting is enough and you don't care for the plot so much, then this series will rank among the all time greats for you.

I like my plot lines tied up and hence felt cheated on seeing the last episode. It ruined the entire series for me. This is a crying shame, the miniseries and the first season were absolutely brilliant. Cracks began to appear in the 2nd and 3rd season, where we were given more mysteries and twist and turns and one had to wonder, how the writers were going to resolve everything. As the 4th season explained the writers just couldn't be bothered to explain anything.

The acting all through the series is top notch. The special effects and CGI is excellent and really adds to the drama and action. The writing in terms of dialogues and drama is very good.

I would recommend watching the mini series and Season 1 but not the entire series. Considering how good the mini series and season 1 is though I think you would be hard pressed not to watch the rest of the season even knowing that it will disappoint you.

Here is the Amazon link for the series or you can use the links at the top of the post to get them.

Rating: 2 /5 for the entire series. Don't bother.

DVD review: Doctor Who - the complete first series

Genre: Science fiction

Boxset info: 5 disc boxset containing all 13 episodes of the first series. This is the newer Doctor Who series that debuted in 2005.

Doctor Who was a successful British Scifi shows in the 60's and has a large cult following. I have not seen the original series so this was my first exposure to Doctor Who. The main protagonist Doctor Who is a alien who has a ship that can travel through space and time. Over the course of 13 episodes we see the good doctor do just that, along the way picking up a human companion Rose and a few other travelers from time to time.

The monster designs and the various set designs for the spacecrafts and space stations, give Doctor Who, a old time almost B movie kind of vibe. This combined with some pretty good special effects ends up giving Doctor Who a unique enjoyable style.

Each episode(or two) ends up being a self contained adventure. The stories are pretty varied and are set in the past, present and future. The writing on the show is very good and the pace of each episode is brisk. As the series goes on the characters get developed and we get to know more about the Doctor and his past. The acting of everyone in the show is very good. Christopher Eccleston in particular who plays the Doctor gives a fine performance.

The only downside to the boxset is the cost which is significantly more expensive then the norm.

Rating: 5 / 5, Highly recommended.

DVD review: Dexter-The complete second season

Genre: TV show about a serial killer. Dark drama.

Boxset info: 4 disc box set containing all 12 episodes of the second season.

Dexter season 1 really set a very high bar for the series and Dexter's producers and actors all step onto the plate and deliver a great second season. Checkout the first seasons review if you have not seen it yet. I'll not spoil anything from the second or first season in this review.

The first episode starts with the same seat of your pants pace as the season finale and the season continues to build on that. Due to the events in season 1 Dexter is facing some emotional issues. This is a first for him since he does not normally feel any emotion. Season 2 continues to peel the layers of Dexter's past and we continue to see other shocking twists to his past. His relationship with his girlfriend and her kids, his step sister and colleagues continue to hold our attention and continue to be interesting.

As the season goes on Dexter's life gets more and more complex and one has to wonder if the writers would be able to resolve everything. So it is gratifying that the season finale manages to resolve things very nicely. I can't wait to see where season 3 will lead to.

Rating: 5 /5, Highly recommended.

DVD review: Dexter-The complete first season

Genre: TV show about a serial killer. Dark drama.

Boxset info: 4 disc box set containing all 12 episodes of the first season.

This show is about a Serial killer who works as blood spatter expert for Miami police. Thats the initial hook of the show and the show grows very well from that initial setup. The main character Dexter is setup as a good serial killer i.e. he only kills very bad people - other serial killers and over the season there is a good chance you will end up liking the character Dexter.

The show builds a lot on Dexter's interactions with other characters on show, from his step sister, girlfriend and colleagues to his dead step-father who appears in various flashbacks. These interactions are fun and interesting because Dexter does not feel human emotions like normal people and he has to fake a lot of it. Over the season the layers around Dexter's mysterious past are peeled away and we get taken along for a rollicking good ride.

The writing is very good with Dexter's character narrating and giving us a unique perspective on the events as they occur. All the actors put in top notch performances. This is a excellent show.

Rating: 5 / 5, Highly recommended.

Also see: Dexter-Season 2 review

DVD review: Made in Spain with Jose Andres

Genre: Cooking / travel show with focus on Spanish cuisine.

Boxset info: 2 Disc.

The DVD starts brightly enough, Jose Andres is clearly passionate about his cooking and that enthusiasm comes through well. The show flits between various regions of Spain and Jose's house in Washington DC. In Spain we get to see where various ingredients come from and also get to see some of the local chefs cook a few of the dishes. Back at Jose's kitchen in Washington DC he shows us how to cook various Tapas dishes usually focussing on the style of region we just visited.

The creators of this show have tried to cram in a lot of Spain in a very short time and therein lies the fault of this boxset. I felt like each region of Spain was just glossed over. The show would have been a lot more fun if more time was dedicated to each region and we got better details about the ingredients, their defining characteristics and how they are used. So while the show is not bad, I feel the potential of this show is wasted and it ends up being average.

Rating: 2.5 / 5, Average. Worth picking if the style of cooking really interests you.

DVD review: Bugs! A rainforest adventure

Genre: Documentary about rain forest bugs. Nature show.

A cool movie that explores the life of bugs in the Amazon rain forest. This movie is technically impressive. As per the official blurb they magnify bugs up to 250,000 times their normal size. This creates some unique moments like being able to watch a bug hatch from its tiny egg.

A lot of the footage is staged and some digital effects are used like combining multiple shots into one. However the film is very well crafted and it all comes together very well. The DVD extras includes a "Making of" documentary which is as much fun to watch as the movie itself.


Rating: 5/5 , Highly recommended.