A Scanner Darkly

Advantages: Good Special Effects
Disadvantages: Not many

..."A Scanner Darkly" is based on the novel by Philip K Dick. Richard Linklater's film stars Keanu Reeves as undercover narcotics policeman; Bob Arctor. This is an interesting film but it didn't really move me deeply. There was some good acting but the story line was simply not exceptional. On deep reflection it is not a film that I would recommend. But if you want to watch it do so at your own risk. 1 hour forty mins Rating (15) The Product details The Actors: Rory Cochrane, Robert Downey Jr., Mitch Baker, Keanu Reeves, Sean Allen (II) Directors: Richard Linklater Format: PAL, Widescreen Language English Region: Region 2 ( DVD formats.) Aspect Ratio: Wide Screen:1 Number of discs: 1 Classification: 15 Studio: Warner Home Video DVD Release Date: 22 Jan 2007 Run Time: 120 minutes...

Nazuku 13.12.2007 (21.12.2007) · Read review
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Review of A Scanner Darkly (DVD)

I Mustek more pictures!

Advantages: size and features
Disadvantages: blurry images in video mode when you move the camera

...Ciao have got the best price for this neat little device spot on. I ordered mine from Directfrom.com for £86.88 on 28/11/04 as a Christmas present for my 13 year old daughter. The order was confirmed by email immediately with a 1 ? 3 day delivery time. You do need to be aware, however, that Directfrom send via Amtrak so if you?re not at home to sign for the package then you have to go to the nearest Amtrak depot to pick it up! The box is about 6 x 4.5 x 3.5 inches which worried me as I was expecting a small, hand held device, but, never fear ? you will not believe how small the camera is when you open the box!!! It is smaller than my Fuji Finepix 2600. ?So what?? I hear you ask. Well the Fuji takes 2.1 megapixel photos (or lower resolution if you need to save memory space for more photos). The Mustek has the following...

mmpr 30.12.2004 · Read review
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Review of Mustek DV 5000

A Scanner Darkly

Advantages: Very Stylistic, gerat soundtrack
Disadvantages: difficult to follow

...Having read Philip K Dicks book, A Scanner Darkly, I was eagerly awaiting the film adaptation. Upon hearing that George Clooney had optioned it no less, and that Richard Linklater was down to direct it I was kind of ecstatic. I have a lot of respect for George Clooney, following his efforts to turn out less main stream Hollywood films, in favour of thought provoking and interesting films. So when I heard that Keanu Reeves had go the lead role as Bob Arctor, my heart sank. To be fair to Reeves, his last couple of films have been stinkers. Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were not bad down to his acting, more to the clunky direction of the Wachowski Brothers. But the lead character for A Scanner Darkly, in my opinion would always have needed someone who had a half decent range, and not someone who cam across as a bit of an airhead...

Lloyd1979 26.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of A Scanner Darkly (DVD)

Great Scanner

Advantages: good quality scanning
Disadvantages: software is rubbish, can take for ever to scan an image

...I bought myself this to scan various things (old photos, documents and some sheet music) and this does the job pretty well. It was a bit on the expensive side but I needed something that would give me good quality and I could trust that it would work well so I went for HP as they are well known for good quality products. TECHNICAL INFORMATION It can scan at up to 4,800 dpi (dots per inch) It has 96 bit colour It has a 216x311mm scanning screen Connects by USB It is 303x508x108mm (wxdxh) It weighs 5.2 kg So it can give you very good quality, it gets a lot of colours, it's got a decent sized scanning screen, it's pretty big and it's not a light weight utility. There is nothing in there to put me off though because I still bought it. A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT Scanners have been dying out because they are getting beaten by...

dbirse 11.03.2007 (11.04.2007) · Read review
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Review of HP ScanJet G4050 Photo Scanner

A Scanner Darkly

Advantages: Interesting depiction of future drug use and relationships
Disadvantages: Slightly dated dialogue, introverted like all Phillip K. Dick

...'A Scanner Darkly' is sci-fi, to be sure, and it's good sci-fi, no doubt about it- it gels together fantastic concepts and well thought out ideas with the mores and values of modern society, creating a fairly seamless blend of present and future. But mostly, it's about drugs. And that is partly why I would recommend it. The writing is classic Dick- snappy, looping dialogue, themes of paranoia, conspiracy and shifting interpersonal relationships. But the autobiographical element of the novel is what is most interesting, and that is largely centered around drug use. Despite a final epilogue where Dick laments the effects of drug abuse on himself and his circle, the writing is remarkably even handed during the novel itself. The side affects of 'Substance D' are the real driving force of the novel and its effects on the drug users...

earthbound23 19.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick

Mustek magic

Advantages: good quality, fast, cheap
Disadvantages: very average software, high resolution causes system crashes

...Mustek 600 CPs scanners are a very good buy. I bought mine for less than £30 and it was worth every penny. The scan quality is excellent and it is fast and easy to use. It scans photos and postcards very, very well but it tends to struggle with magazines and newspapers which reflects the quality of these publications. It takes typically two to three minutes to scan a photograph in 600 dpi. This quality setting gives crystal clear scans at the same size as the source but when a bigger bitmap is required it may need a higher quality setting which can cause crashes. You would be well advised to simply download the drivers from Mustek.com rather than use the software CD, as the scans work better and you can choose to use only Paint Shop Pro or similar for your image editing. Beware users of Windows ME and 2000, the CD software doesn...

neilmoore67 23.12.2000 · Read review
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Review of Mustek 600 CP

More Scanners, not quite as good though

Advantages: Some good plot twists
Disadvantages: Doesn't add anything new to the previous movie

...The great thing about the original Scanners movie is it was a totally new idea combining elements of horror & science fiction with telepathy & telekinesis which gave the sinister but rather compelling story of good versus evil and brother against brother. Throw into that mix one of the first film roles for the awesome Micheal Ironside (as the evil brother) as well as the great film making ability of David Cronenburg and it made for a great underground cult horror 80's video nasty. The Scanners ability was caused by pregnant mothers taking a drug called Ephemerol, the child becoming a Scanner was its side effect. In this 2nd movie we mainly follow a lone good Scanner called David Kellum who it turns out is the son of the 2 surviving Male & Female Scanners from the original movie, he struggles to contain his power as we also see...

atytyut2434 02.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Scanners 2 - The New Order (DVD)

Take your filthy paws off my scanner

Advantages: No extra power cable, light weight
Disadvantages: Slow, problems with Windows service pack 2

...For some reason I have never had much luck with scanners, I have had about 4 in my life time and each of the first 3 have died some nasty death, the worst being that the last one decided to start smoking before the glass cover shattered. Anyway, I luckily stumbled across my latest scanner a couple of years ago, being the Mustek Be@rPaw 1200CU Plus scanner, and other than a couple of issues with it working on XP service pack 2; it has been a real star. ►►► The Look This is what I would definitely call a slimline flatbed scanner and at just 3.7 cm in height I would hope you would agree. The rest of the scanner is pretty much a standard size with a width of approx 28cm and a depth of just over 40cm. It is no surprise that a machine as compact in size as it is does not weigh much and at 1.8 kg it is one...

christianfilmcritic 13.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of Mustek Be@rPaw 1200CU Plus

Cheap and cheerful A3 scanner

Advantages: Cheap, easy to use
Disadvantages: Software too simple

...If like me you work mainly in A3, I am sure you have discovered that although cheap A4 printers are two a penny, there is a distinct lack of choice of A3 scanners, or at least affordable ones! So with a budget of less than £100, I had a choice of, well, one scanner?.So needless to say I went with that one, the Mustek ScanExpress A3 USB! Appearance Well, although not attractive it is very compact! Only marginally larger than an A3 sheet, I can't see how it could be any more space saving, well other than a vertical scanner I guess! Although it's a new model (based on the Mustek ScanExpress A3, non USB version!) it is only available in computer beige, so Mustek appear to be lagging behind a bit and missing the whole grey computer revelation, which is a bit of a shame when you consider most scanners sit on a desk in full view...

Lush1 04.09.2006 · Read review
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Review of Mustek ScanExpress A3 USB

This Scanner Is Not Paw

Advantages: Simple to use and lovely to look at (like me)
Disadvantages: A fading peripheral

...BACKGROUND My father-in-law is a real life Derek Trotter. His spare room seems to have a huge array of books, CDs, electrical equipment, computers bits and, bizarrely, bricks. Before you cry "thief", he's no crook and none of the products are stolen. He likes to do what he calls "swapsies". If his friends have got something that he would like, he'll suggest doing a swap. In the past, he has swapped hard drives for mobiles, bricks for toasters. It's totally strange, I agree, but this is all pre-owned stuff similar to the second hand bobbins that you get on e-Bay or at boot sales. He just operates out of his spare room. No money passes hands and everyone's happy. So, when I told him I was after a scanner recently and that I had an old CD player to swap for it, he did the biz and produced this: the Be@rPaw 1200 scanner. MY...

waynehorrigan 21.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Mustek Be@rPaw 1200CS