CLOCKSTOPPERS
($30) is one of those movies that I like to term science fiction lite-
just like regular science fiction, with only half the plausibility. Of
course, one has to remember that CLOCKSTOPPERS is a Nickelodeon
co-production, with a somewhat juvenile target audience that isn't likely
to question the film's gaps in logic. With one's brain switched to
neutral, CLOCKSTOPPERS becomes an enjoyable teen adventure with
cool looking special effects and a fairly potent soundtrack.
The
plot of CLOCKSTOPPERS concerns an underachieving high school
student named Zak Gibbs (Jesse Bradford), whose needs, wants and desires
are always at odds with those of his workaholic college professor father
(Robin Thomas). Just as Professor Gibbs is about to leave town for a
scientific convention, he receives a new invention to evaluate from one of
his former students. As it turns out, the invention that Dopler (French
Stewart) sent his former mentor is a wristwatch, which accelerates the
wearer's molecular structure to the point that time seems to be standing
still. Of course, Zak winds up in possession of the wristwatch and he uses
it to impress a pretty new student named Francesca (Paula Garcés).
Unfortunately for Zak, the fun and games come to an abrupt end when some
goons in the employ of Dopler's sinister boss come looking for the
wristwatch. The cast of CLOCKSTOPPERS also features Michael Biehn,
Garikayi Mutambirwa and Julia Sweeney.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made CLOCKSTOPPERS available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. Owing the fact that CLOCKSTOPPERS is a slick
looking new movie, it should come as no surprise that this is great
looking DVD. The image super crisp and beautifully detailed. Colors are
usually quite vibrant and the flesh tones remain natural looking. There
are no traces of chroma noise or smearing the mar color reproduction.
Blacks are perfectly inky, contrast is wonderfully smooth and the picture
produces very impressive shadow detail. Dual layer authoring keeps the
digital compression artifacts very well camouflaged.
In
addition to the great looking picture, CLOCKSTOPPERS features an
impressive Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. The mix is highly
aggressive and very enveloping. Sound effects emanate from all of the
discrete channels, and many of the effects move convincingly through the
soundstage. Every time the film's hyper-time effects are engaged, the
accompanying sound effect really rock the entire soundstage and they cause
the bass channel to pulse to floor shaking life. Dialogue is cleanly
rendered, with excellent intelligibility. Since CLOCKSTOPPERS is
interned for the youth market, there is plenty of incidental pop music on
the track- all of which is reproduced with terrific fidelity. English and
French Dolby Surround soundtracks are also encoded onto the DVD, as are
English subtitles.
The
basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a few extras. Running a little over ten
minutes is the featurette The Making of Clockstoppers, which
is pretty much a fluffy PR piece with interviews and a brief look behind
the scenes. Four thirty second promotional TV spots are also included on
the DVD, as are the music videos Holiday in my Head by Smash
Mouth and It's The Weekend by Lil' J. A theatrical trailer
closes out the DVD's extra features.
CLOCKSTOPPERS
is a fun movie for kids and teens, although adult audiences and hard-core
science fiction buffs will probably find the material a bit too
lightweight for their tastes. Still, the DVD looks and sounds great, so
anyone interested in seeing CLOCKSTOPPERS will certainly enjoy the
disc.
CLOCKSTOPPERS
($30) is one of those movies that I like to term science fiction lite-
just like regular science fiction, with only half the plausibility. Of
course, one has to remember that CLOCKSTOPPERS is a Nickelodeon
co-production, with a somewhat juvenile target audience that isn't likely
to question the film's gaps in logic. With one's brain switched to
neutral, CLOCKSTOPPERS becomes an enjoyable teen adventure with
cool looking special effects and a fairly potent soundtrack.
The
plot of CLOCKSTOPPERS concerns an underachieving high school
student named Zak Gibbs (Jesse Bradford), whose needs, wants and desires
are always at odds with those of his workaholic college professor father
(Robin Thomas). Just as Professor Gibbs is about to leave town for a
scientific convention, he receives a new invention to evaluate from one of
his former students. As it turns out, the invention that Dopler (French
Stewart) sent his former mentor is a wristwatch, which accelerates the
wearer's molecular structure to the point that time seems to be standing
still. Of course, Zak winds up in possession of the wristwatch and he uses
it to impress a pretty new student named Francesca (Paula Garcés).
Unfortunately for Zak, the fun and games come to an abrupt end when some
goons in the employ of Dopler's sinister boss come looking for the
wristwatch. The cast of CLOCKSTOPPERS also features Michael Biehn,
Garikayi Mutambirwa and Julia Sweeney.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made CLOCKSTOPPERS available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. Owing the fact that CLOCKSTOPPERS is a slick
looking new movie, it should come as no surprise that this is great
looking DVD. The image super crisp and beautifully detailed. Colors are
usually quite vibrant and the flesh tones remain natural looking. There
are no traces of chroma noise or smearing the mar color reproduction.
Blacks are perfectly inky, contrast is wonderfully smooth and the picture
produces very impressive shadow detail. Dual layer authoring keeps the
digital compression artifacts very well camouflaged.
In
addition to the great looking picture, CLOCKSTOPPERS features an
impressive Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. The mix is highly
aggressive and very enveloping. Sound effects emanate from all of the
discrete channels, and many of the effects move convincingly through the
soundstage. Every time the film's hyper-time effects are engaged, the
accompanying sound effect really rock the entire soundstage and they cause
the bass channel to pulse to floor shaking life. Dialogue is cleanly
rendered, with excellent intelligibility. Since CLOCKSTOPPERS is
interned for the youth market, there is plenty of incidental pop music on
the track- all of which is reproduced with terrific fidelity. English and
French Dolby Surround soundtracks are also encoded onto the DVD, as are
English subtitles.
The
basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a few extras. Running a little over ten
minutes is the featurette The Making of Clockstoppers, which
is pretty much a fluffy PR piece with interviews and a brief look behind
the scenes. Four thirty second promotional TV spots are also included on
the DVD, as are the music videos Holiday in my Head by Smash
Mouth and It's The Weekend by Lil' J. A theatrical trailer
closes out the DVD's extra features.
CLOCKSTOPPERS
is a fun movie for kids and teens, although adult audiences and hard-core
science fiction buffs will probably find the material a bit too
lightweight for their tastes. Still, the DVD looks and sounds great, so
anyone interested in seeing CLOCKSTOPPERS will certainly enjoy the
disc.
