Stranded: Countdown to Annihilation (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Adventure	Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	91:43
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Ed Raymond
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Michael Dudikoff Ice-T Hannes Jaenicke Paul Michael Robinson Yvette Nipar Richard Gabai Kathy Harren Alex Veadov
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$39.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    As a fan of movies in general, I often feel compelled to give something a go based on fairly scant reasoning. I chose to review this disc for two main reasons; firstly, I enjoy science fiction films set in outer space and secondly, I like Ice-T as an actor, especially as Fin in Law & Order : SVU. Not much of a reason I know, but giving things a chance has rewarded me in the past, with films such as Tube and Perfect Strangers being good examples. Unfortunately, this film is nowhere near as good as those two.

    A Russian space station (built by an American company) has become disabled and is heading back towards earth's atmosphere. Accordingly, an American space shuttle is sent to rescue the crew including some Americans conducting an experiment on a new energy source. The rescue party is lead by veteran Ed Carpenter (Michael Dudikoff), and includes pilot Suzy Miller (Yvette Nipar). The National Security Agency (NSA) wants to get their hands on this new energy source and so arranges for NASA to include one of their men, James McKendrick (Hannes Jaenicke) in the mission. The fact that he has no experience or training in space flight doesn't seem to bother them. Meanwhile, McKendrick's partner, Larry Jeffries (Ice-T) is investigating a conspiracy which seems to be related to the problems in the space station. From there, pretty much every cliché in science fiction/space movie history is utilised until the Americans save the day.

    The scenes in space are boring, full of bad dialogue and acting, have ordinary special effects and no build up of tension at all. The movie is made watchable by some decent action sequences set on earth featuring Ice-T's character. He looks like Marlon Brando compared to the rest of this cast. There is quite a reasonable car chase scene toward the end of the film. Don't attempt to understand the action scene at the beginning of the film, because other than introducing McKendrick and Jeffries it bears to relation to the rest of the film. This film is credited as being directed by Ed Raymond, however, I am lead to believe that this is actually one of the aliases used by low-budget horror director, Fred Olen Ray.

    Frankly, this film is not worth your time. Of course, the fact that it has now been released under 5 different names should also be a giveaway.

Video

    The video quality is good but looks like a television show.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is most likely the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise. There was some light grain during some scenes and heavier grain on the fairly obvious stock space footage.

    The colour was fine.

    There were a few black and white specks on and off throughout the film but they did not intrude too much.

    There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read.
    

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is good.

    This DVD contains only one audio option, a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s.

    The music used in this film is not credited to a particular composer and I would guess that it has been put together from a library of music. It is fine but is nothing special.

    The surround speakers are used regularly but don't stand out, although early in the film there are a few noticeable effects.

    The subwoofer was used from time to time, however, it did not add anything spectacular, despite numerous opportunities such as explosions and other such events.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu included was still and silent, but perfectly functional.

Theatrical Trailer (1:58)

    This trailer does an excellent job of making this seem like a better film than it is.

    This movie is available in Region 1 as Black Horizon with a filmmakers commentary and photo gallery as extra features.

    The video quality is good.

    The audio quality is good.

    The disc has only a theatrical trailer as an extra.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall