Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on January 3rd, 2013
“For every dark, a light. For every foe, a friend. For every question, an answer. For every key, a lock.”
And for every kid-centric animated program, a lucrative line of tie-in toys. Monsuno borrows liberally — the nicest way I know of saying “rips off” — from previous phenomena like Beyblade, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Though it primarily exists to help sell derivative trading cards and action figures, the show establishes a surprisingly intriguing world in its first handful of episodes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 11th, 2012
"When you said you wanted an ocean view, you didn't think you'd get the whole ocean, did you?"
When Finding Nemo was released in May of 2003 there were a ton of skeptics. It was certainly a divergence from the tried and true Pixar formula, and even the people involved with the project were concerned that it would become Pixar's first flop. They needn't have worried. The film was far from a flop. It took in over $70 million in just its first weekend. The final total would be just shy of a billion dollars. The animated feature took the Oscar for best animated feature that year. But that would be just one of 35 awards the film would go on to win. Still, the true success of a film can not always be found in the box office take. Truly classic films are timeless. It's been one of Walt Disney's defining characteristics over the decades. It might be too early to tell if Finding Nemo will fit that timeless classic mold, but it has already left a pretty strong impact on our pop culture.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 9th, 2012
One of the traps as a kid I never really got into was the art of the Magic card game. Sure, the cards were pretty to look at but the actual game behind it or the similar pretenders never seemed to interest me. Of course, these card games never quite stay card games, they become toys and often cartoon series. Today, I get one of those so called card games which have spawned a series. Its name is Kaijudo and the review is next on the Hub.
There is a rip in the space-time continuum and a large rhino-like creature jumps out to attack a couple who have decided to take a stroll. Out of nowhere, Hector Chavez, a duel master comes to the scene and calls his creature, Gilaflame the Assaulter. The two creatures start to fight with Gilaflame gaining the upper hand and driving the rhino-like monster back into the rip and sealing it once again. These rips are becoming far too frequent. In the distance, a man with a blue claw watches.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 3rd, 2012
There was some real enjoyment when I took on the reviewing reigns for the first season of Transformers Prime. It was the best thing since the infamous Generation 1 cartoons and showed great sound, dazzling video and fantastic character development. Now, we enter season two and if we watched the teasers, we learned that Optimus Prime was branded with the Decepticon logo possibly meaning the impossible. How could this be? Well tune in true believers, we shall find out all this and more.
In light of Unicron’s awakening, drastic measures needed to be taken (such as Optimus Prime and Megatron uniting as a team). The Matrix of Leadership had kept Earth safe, for now. But when Optimus lost the matrix, he lost himself too and reverted to his form before he assumed life as a Prime. That life he was simply known as Orion Pax, librarian and researcher. Doing what Megatron does best, he deceives Orion into joining him on his ship and branding him under the image of a Decepticon.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 15th, 2012
Most of you reading this now have probably seen my reviews for part 2 and part 3 of this series. Well, the wonderful people at Shout Factory sent me a compilation disc in blu-ray nevertheless and I am very excited to bring it to the reading public for review. The important medium of digital or motion comics is about to receive its most significant package yet. But enough about an introduction, lets directly dive into the complete collection of Astonishing X-Men or better known as the Joss Whedon run of X-Men.
Gifted (Disc One)
The X-Men prepare for a new year of students. Jean Grey is gone, but Emma Frost has taken her place and Kitty Pryde has returned. The students are promising but still have a lot to prove. However, when a “mutant cure” is announced by Benetech scientist, Dr. Kavita Rao, the students and the team get concerned. The now almost feline Beast pays her a visit to find that her methods might not be ethical. In addition, an alien named Ord has taken a party hostage and it is up to the team to do something a little astonishing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2012
"The ancients spoke of it. It is the heart of this fierce land. It is carried in the wind. Born of our legends, and when we are put to the test, it is the one thing that we must always be."
Readers of this site already know that I have a particular fondness for most of the films that have come from Pixar. The studio pretty much invented the computer-animated feature film, and they've been setting the bar higher with each new release. I've always thought it was rather fitting that the studio ended up as part of Disney. After all, it was the Mouse House that invented the animated feature to begin with. It all has a certain poetic destiny feel for me. Pixar is still leading the cutting edge. My favorite to date has been Monsters, Inc., and I am eagerly waiting for the Monsters University prequel, which is now only a year away. In the meantime, the powers that be over at Pixar have tossed us yet another original story: Brave.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 8th, 2012
My favorite genre of music to make fun of is Metal (even though I like listening to it). As an example, This is Spinal Tap, the best musical mockumentary ever, we learn that metal can be freaking hilarious. That’s why when my webmaster offered me Metalocalypse Season Four on Blu-Ray, I eagerly said yes even though I had only seen the cartoon once or twice. However, once I opened it up, I realized before me was perhaps one of the funniest dark comedic cartoons I have ever seen.
This site has not really touched this series since Season One, so I will go ahead and go over the basics. Metalocalypse is about a band, possibly the world’s greatest death metal band, Dethklok. This band has become so successful that they are considered the seventh largest economy in the world. Dethklok consists of five members: Nathan Explosion (lead singer), Skwisgaar Skwigelf(lead guitar), Toki Wartooth (rhythm guitarist), Pickles (drummer) and William Murderface (bassist).
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on October 28th, 2012
Quick, what cartoon was generally considered to be the first primetime cartoon of its kind, running from 1960 to 1966 with over a hundred and sixty episodes? Give up? Well that show would be the Flintstones, a stone age comedy that imitated the Honeymooners with quick wit and wholesome family jokes. Today, we have a review that brings together a couple of primetime specials that aired during the late seventies. Let's explore the first volume of Flintstones Prime Time Specials Volume 1 from the Warner Archive.
The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone: This special aired on October 30th, 1979. Fred and Wilma dress up as a chicken and rabbit while Barney and Betty dress up as a flower and a bumble bee. They find themselves going to the set of the game show: "Make a Deal or Don't" hosted by the one and only: Monty Marble. The first contestant is Barney who is given $1,000 but is also given the option of taking the curtain. Despite "chicken" taunts by Fred, Barney listens to his wife and takes the money. Fred's egging one of his best friends earns him the right to be the next contestant.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on October 28th, 2012
Most people know I'm a sucker for cartoons and I am willing to give any new toon a try. Often in this day and age I might be let down as a lot of newer cartoons do not always hold up against many of the well defined classics of my childhood. However, I rarely get jaded and I am always eager for the next new show to come chomping down the block. The title for us today to review is Regular Show and 16 of the best episodes that a single disc can buy. Let's take a look.
As mentioned above, this is a best of disc. These episodes come from the second and third season and are presented in Dolby Digital Stereo and 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. None of the episodes are repeats from the first compilation disc entitled Regular Show: Slack Pack. Somebody really needs to get on the horn and start making season sets for this, but more on that later.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 23rd, 2012
“A dragon. A dragon. You bet we saw a dragon. So big and brave he came to save a village in distress. He kept the ship from crashing when he heard the SOS. He faced a group of villains and he fought them with success…”
When Walt Disney Studios released Mary Poppins, the entertainment world was turned on its ears. The integration of live action footage with animation had never been done with such success before. The studio that nearly singlehandedly perfected modern methods of animation was also the studio that learned how to combine it almost seamlessly with real breathing actors. With the release of Pete’s Dragon many years later, audiences couldn’t wait for a peek at how far Disney had perfected the process in those years. While as children we got a big kick out of Pete’s Dragon, anyone looking for the latest in integration technology was in for a dragon-sized disappointment. The creature effects bore no resemblance whatsoever to that earlier technique. The animation itself was crude, by Disney standards at least, and never, not for a second, appeared as if it existed in the same place as the rest of the film. The beast’s green color would fluctuate in hue as well as brightness. There were many obvious mismatches where the two media connected. Even many of the actors’ sightlines were far off the mark. Walt Disney Studios took several steps backwards with the 1977 release of Pete’s Dragon.
