Family

Disney’s A Christmas Carol (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2010

It was in 1843 that celebrated writer Charles Dickens created one of the most iconic symbols of Christmas with his publication of A Christmas Carol. It was a cautionary tale for an industrial revolution that was getting caught up in its material worship. Dickens intended the story both to entertain and to put the spotlight on what he considered already then was an over-commercialization of the Christmas season. Little did he know that his very story would become a huge part of that commercialization.
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Christmas in Canaan

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 1st, 2010

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Two young boys start a rivalry that is forged into a friendship by way of helping an ailing dog. As one boy’s caregiver passes away, the other boy’s family takes him on as one of their own. This family struggles through tough times on their farm as well as tensions from bigoted neighbours because the boy they took into their home happens to be black. Such is the “family bond” thesis of this highly sentimental Xmas film, co-authored by Country superstar Kenny Rogers, and starring country star turned famous dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.
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Air Bud: World Pup Special Edition DVD

Posted in Disc Reviews by BABY on June 22nd, 2010

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Hey everybody. Baby, back again to bring you yet another dog movie from a dog’s point of view, which is the floor, in case anybody out there really wants to know. You see, Gino won’t let me on the furniture in the theater. He says that just because the seats look like chew toys, and smell like chew toys, doesn’t mean they actually are chew toys. I mean, really, people. You wanna talk about your special effects, which reminds me of something else I’m not supposed to do in the theater, but let’s not talk about that right now.
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The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 12th, 2010

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This film takes you back to the realm of Leave it to Beaver and from there tells the story of a young boy who has a crush on a girl who works at the local pizza parlour, and befriends an elderly neighbour who inspires him and all his friends (and enemies) to become devout Christianity. This film does not hide the fact that it is geared towards those who are faithful and are seeking a family friendly story to witness.
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Alice in Wonderland (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 7th, 2010

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“I try to believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Count them, Alice. One, there are drinks that make you shrink. Two, there are foods that make you grow. Three, animals can talk. Four, cats can disappear. Five, there is a place called Underland. Six, I can slay the Jabberwocky.”

To be perfectly honest with you, I have never read either of the two Lewis Carroll books on which this film has been based. Under ordinary circumstances, that would put me at a decided disadvantage
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Flicka 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2010

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“In the West there lives an animal that runs wild and free. Its strength and courage symbolize our pioneering spirit. That magnificent animal is the wild mustang.”

In 1943 a very young Roddy McDowall played a young boy in the perennial classic My Friend Flicka. The film was about a rebellious boy who is given a colt to teach him responsibility. He eventually bonds with the horse and learns the necessary lessons. The film was followed by a 1956 television series that followed the adventures of Gus and Flicka and lasted but one year. In 2006, the story was revived in a remake filmed under the same name but shortened to Flicka before it was released.
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Robin Hood Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2010

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“Comrades, I’ve called you together again because the people of England face a grave crisis. Many years ago as Robin Hood, I led you as an outlaw band. Here in Sherwood Forest, together we resisted the tyrant King John. When he died, we dispersed because we believed that tyranny had died with him. But tyranny did not die. It merely slept. And now it has awakened again.”

Speak the name Robin Hood and one immediately conjures images of the swashbuckling hero of medieval England.
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Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 19th, 2010

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It seems like yesterday, but about a year ago; my cat of 14 years had died. Her name was Burns. She had survived through my college years and the worst period in my life during my 20’s. Sarah had come into my life at that point and I guess my cat finally realized she could let go. Burns was always a loyal companion and there to bring me up when I needed it. I never had a better pet than her, and I probably never will. Hachi, A Dog’s Tale is another story about a faithful animal, adapted from a Japanese true story.

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The Princess and The Frog (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 16th, 2010

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If any studio out there knows princesses, it has to be Disney. Uncle Walt has brought us so many memorably magical moments in the realms of fairy godmothers and the rags to riches tradition. A list of such Disney characters would serve as a rather complete roll call of such familiar animated ladies: Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, and now you can add yet another name to the growing list. The studio that invented the animated fairy tale returns to its hand-drawn animation roots with The Princess And The Frog.
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Call of The Wild – 3D

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 5th, 2010

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“When nature rules, beauty reigns.”

Ryan Hale (Gade) is on a winter break from school. Her parents are off touring Europe, so she has to leave her city life at Beacon Hill in Boston to spend some time with her grandfather (Lloyd) who lives in the wilderness of Montana. She might have been excited at first to see Montana, but soon learns that Miley Cyrus is nowhere in sight. Instead she is quickly bored with the seemingly unending parade of trees and snow. She becomes impatient with her grandfather’s appreciation for nature along with a lack of cable television. It all spells out a rather dull winter break until she finds a wounded wolf/dog.
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Sticks and Stones

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 23rd, 2009

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“Inspired by a true story,” two youth hockey teams on either side of the Canada/US border find friendship and bond through their mutual love of the game while tensions rise between those that support and those that protest the Iraq invasion and assorted post 9-11 security fears.
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Ghost Cat

Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2009

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This Canadian made-for-TV movie from 2003 is about to be released on DVD. It stars a young Ellen Page (Juno, Hard Candy) which, I suspect, is the reason it is being released on DVD after all this time. The changes to the cover art support this theory. The original displayed much of the cast, with the titular cat featured in the foreground. The new and improved cover features a large picture of Ellen Page above the cat, with her name featured prominently above the title. I’m not sure if Miss Page has the kind of wide appeal to warrant basing a marketing campaign around, but sometimes you have to toss out every pitch you know and hope one of them gets over the plate.
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The Waltons: The Complete Ninth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 7th, 2009

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Talk about your hit show running out of steam. The Waltons is the perfect example of a show that outstayed its welcome. When it first took television audiences by storm in 1971, it became a cultural phenomenon. But by the show’s ninth and final year as a regular series it was 1980 and the country, the world, for that matter, had changed. It didn’t help matters that Richard Thomas had left the show, and his popular John Boy character, behind. The show’s core fans remained, but America’s love affair with The Waltons was clearly over.
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Bedtime Stories (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2009

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It’s official. I’ve just totally given up on Adam Sandler. Honestly, I haven’t laughed at anything he’s done since the music video for The Lonesome Kicker. How many times can the same absurdity and Romper Room antics work on a film audience? Even in a Walt Disney film that required Sandler to clean up his act a bit, the same sophomoric humor was showing through the threadbare shtick. You just knew there were times he wanted to let loose with some off color remark or obscene gesture. While I was pleased that he gave it the effort, it’s like asking a mute man to talk after you just tied up his hands.
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Marley And Me (Bad Dog Edition) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2009

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“A dog has no use for fancy cars, or big houses, or designer clothes. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give ‘em your heart and he’ll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”

In the name of full disclosure, I should probably give you a little background in the circumstances in which I find myself watching and reviewing Marley & Me. If you’re a regular reader of this site and my reviews, you have come to learn that I have a Siberian Husky named Athena.
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Meerkat Manor Season 4

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009

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Meerkat Manor is back for a fourth season on DVD. You’re invited back into the South African desert with the famous Whiskers Clan. Animal Planet has themselves a relatively big hit here with Meerkat Manor. OK, so, it’s not exactly The Sopranos or The Shield, but it does have a modestly dedicated audience. Seems that folks just can’t get enough of these fur balls.
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Mary Poppins (45th Anniversary Special Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 28th, 2009

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Mary Poppins was the subject of a series of books by P.L. Travers. Long before Harry Potter came on the scene, Mary was delighting children all over the world with her spectacular magical abilities. At the time Walt Disney was making a name for himself and his studio by bringing many of the children’s classics to the big screen. From fairy tales to Winnie The Pooh, the studio was providing the look and the soundtrack to the imaginative worlds already known and beloved by millions. It was a magnificent strategy, and it would pay off huge for the company.
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Kyle XY: The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 6th, 2009

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“Every story has a beginning. Every life has meaning and potential…”

Kyle doesn’t really know his story, and he’s beginning to understand his potential. But that was last year. This year things are about to change for our adolescent boy without a belly button. The series Kyle XY returned first to ABC Family and now returns to DVD.
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Meerkat Manor, Season 3

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 30th, 2008

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Meerkat Manor is back for a third season on DVD. You’re invited back into the South African desert with the famous Whiskers Clan. Animal Planet has themselves a relatively big hit here with Meerkat Manor. OK, so, it’s not exactly The Sopranos or The Shield, but it does have a modestly dedicated audience. Seems that folks just can’t get enough of these fur balls. They’ve set up blogs and websites dedicated to the antics of the celebrated Whiskers. If you, like them and are dying to see what these lil’ guys are up to next, wait no longer.
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The Aristocats (Special Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 9th, 2008

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The Aristocats has the distinction of being the very last animated project that was greenlit by Walt Disney himself before his passing. The film reveals all of the classic elements that Walt believed a good animation project should contain. He went to the famous Sherman Brothers to provide sing-a-longable songs and utilized the best voice talents in the Disney arsenal. While the animation is not quite as good as some of the other films made during this animation golden age, it still met the high standard Walt Disney had already established.
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Snow Buddies

Posted in Disc Reviews by Athena on February 8th, 2008

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OK. Listen up. My name’s Athena and I’m a 12 year old Siberian Husky living in Florida. When I heard Gino say he needed a break and some down time, I decided to pitch in. It turns out that pulling a speaker from the shelf was not the kind of “break” he was talking about, and maybe not what he meant by “down” time either, now that I think about it. So, in between the “bad dogs” and those funny little words that come out whenever I get creative, I was able to figure out what he was really talking about.
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The Intruder

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 8th, 2007

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Roger Corman is fond of saying that only one of his movies ever lost money. It was this 1962 release (shot in 1961), and it is his bravest film, and still arguably his most powerful. William Shatner plays Adam Cramer, a white supremacist associated with the “Patrick Henry Society” (read: John Birch Society), who arrives in the southern town of Caxton on the eve of racial integration of the school. The demagogue whips up the hatred of the white townspeople, leading to cross-burning, church-bombing, and worse.
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Meet the Robinsons

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 22nd, 2007

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Meet The Robinsons follows the story of young orphan Lewis. He’s quite the young inventor but ends up with more failures and near misses than anything successful. His tendency to blow things up doesn’t help his adoption chances too much either. One day his life is changed when a kid from the future arrives to give him a boost of confidence. Back in the future Lewis is temporarily trapped, and the guest of the manic family Robinson. Each family member is a zany character unto themselves. Uncle Art, cleverly voiced by Adam West, is an intergalactic pizza delivery guy, and mom has trained frogs to become big band singers.
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Gracie

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 5th, 2007

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The main quote on this disc’s cover reads, “if you liked Bend it Like Beckham, you’ll love Gracie.” Baloney. OK! Magazine’s Karen Berg got me all excited with this raving tidbit, because I did like Bend it. A lot. Unfortunately for me and anyone else who pays attention to such quotes, Bergie either never watched Gracie or just doesn’t know movies and why people like them.

Here’s my new quote for the DVD case: “If you still like after-school specials, you’ll be delighted with Gracie, a half-baked TV movie in the guise of something more.”

The Jungle Book (40th Anniversary Platinum Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 1st, 2007

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There are two very distinctive schools of thought about Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book. There are the Kipling fanatics who have never forgiven Disney for taking a story considered sacred in literary circles and creating something that honestly bears (pardon the pun) little resemblance to the original work. These folks rightfully point out that the story contains almost nothing recognizable about the story and characters from Kipling’s beloved classic. I have often condemned projects that take names like The Night Stalker and Battlestar Galactica and create a vision incompatible with the traditions I associate with them. Therefore this review might seem a bit hypocritical when I tell you I side with the other camp that considers this film to be a milestone, not only in Disney animation, but in animation history itself.
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