Disc Reviews

Nails. This right here is an ongoing struggle between me and my wife. As a man, I do not understand the significance of spending money on something that you can do yourself. Not to mention, I can tell you how many times I’ve gotten in trouble for not noticing when she goes to get a manicure and pedicure. In fact, I honestly don’t really know the difference between the two. Needless to say, a television show that revolved around a nail salon was not going to resonate with me. Fortunately, Claws had other things to grab onto, such as the inner workings of a criminal enterprise for which the nail salon is a cover. So I went into the story with reservations that were immediately melted away by the intriguing storyline. Furthermore, I was caught off guard by how many people I recognized; Niecy Nash, Harold Perrineau, Dean Norris, Carrie Preston, and many more.

Claws features Desna Simms (Nash), the proprietor of Nail Artisans, a nail salon in Manatee County, Florida. Desna dreams of building a better salon in a more profitable location. To that end, she allows her business to be used as a money laundering operation for the Husser Family, a criminal syndicate involved in the drug trade, led by Clay Husser, also known as “Uncle Daddy” (Dean Norris).  Events quickly spiral out of control for her when her lover and criminal contact Roller Husser (Jack Kesy) nearly beats her to death and she is saved by Roller’s mistress, Virginia (Karrueche Tran).  I must say, that is a powerful opening and does make for some good drama. For a majority of the opening episode, the two served naturally as antagonists. I mean, of course; what else could you possibly be to the woman who is sleeping with your boyfriend behind your back and attempts to muscle in on your salon business. However, her willingness to rescue Desna sets forth a different dynamic. However, don’t think that this single act made them fast friends, as they spend a great deal of the season butting heads, especially in regards to Desna’s brother Dean, played by Harold Perrineau.

When you watch a Western film, there are a certain number of elements that you subconsciously tick off in you head as the film plays out. There's the obvious traps of horses, six-guns, cowboy hats, saloons, and lawmen and outlaws. Gone Are the Days does a thorough job of checking each of those boxes as it goes along. But it tries to do some of the other things that make a Western worth watching above the crowded genre. Gone Are The Days fills the screen with some talented actors who deliver wonderfully nuanced characters. It would almost appear that you just couldn't ask any more from a relatively low-budget Western movie. The key word there is ... almost. The movie has all of the elements and strong performances, but somewhere along the way the film spends too much time telling a story it forgot to pack in the saddlebags. The result is an easy-to-watch film that you'll likely never pull off your video shelf again.

As the film begins we are introduced to elder bank robber Taylon, played by an elder Lance Henriksen. His doctor believes he's on his deathbed and leaves to get more medicine and a priest. But Taylon climbs out of that bed with nothing but the sheer will to keep going. If he doesn't, we have a rather short Western movie on our hands. Instead we get what soon feels like an overlong Western on our patience. Taylon begins to attempt the routine activities of a late 19th century life. As a montage this would have been an effective start to the film; however, director Mark Landre Gould wants us to feel the frustration and pain that Taylon feels, and the best way to do that is force us to linger on these sad attempts to do anything from going to the little cowboy's room to getting water from a well using an old broken pail. Gould should have realized he had an awesome actor in Henriksen, who is actually delivering the goods with his own body language, and he does it more efficiently, and more importantly, he delivers it faster. Fifteen minutes screen time and patent Taylon tries our patience.

You know what the greatest thing about kids is? Their imaginations. That is something that tends to diminish as we get older. If you are lucky, some vestiges remain as an adult, but nothing in comparison to when you were a kid, right? I mean, when you are a kid, your imagination allows to be believe that anything is possible. For example, the idea that two puppies can not only fly to Hawaii in back in the span of time that it takes their owner to make it home from work, but they can do it without being in a doggie carrier. That was my struggle while watching Puppy Dog Pals; I kept bring reality into it. However, my daughter Nalyce does not have that problem. So no matter how crazy these two puppies’ antics got, she loved every minute of it. And you know what? The sound of her laughter and seeing her so engaged with something positive made me love it too.

Puppy Dog Pals follows two dogs, pugs if I had to guess, as they engage in adventures that take them all over the world. I feel obligated to mention again that these two managed to travel to and from areas such as Hawaii, France, and China in the span of time it takes their owner, Bob, to make it home from work. Once you get the impossibility of those actions, everything else become feasible, and you can enjoy the show. This is obviously a kids’ show, and I am far from the target audience, but even still I was able to enjoy myself. In my opinion, Bingo tends to be the more levelheaded of the two, thus making him my favorite character. My daughter is of a differing opinion, as Rollie tends to take things more literally, such as when Bingo attempts to explain what a floral lei is, and Rollie proceeds to “lay”down. Rounding out the cast are the puppies’ big sister cat, Hissy, and A.R.F, an artificial intelligence dog created by Bob to clean up after and entertain the puppies. (Remember that part I mentioned about overcoming the impossibilities? I bet you thought it was going to be easier.)

So, when it comes to animated kids’ movies, I defer to the expertise of my six-year-old daughter, Nalyce. I’ve been reviewing for several years now and I like to think that I am capable of being firm and fair, but my daughter is a harder judge of the quality kids content. She actually walked out on Finding Dory. Yeah, she is that tough. Fortunately for Tad Stone the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas, it received her golden seal of approval, pun intended. A continuation of the franchise, the story functions well enough as a standalone that you don’t have to be concerned that you won’t be about to keep up with the premise.

A sequel to the previous film (Tad Stone the Lost Explorer), the story picks up with Tad about to reunite with renowned archeologist, Sara, at the unveiling of her most recent discovery. Tad is gathering his courage in hopes of rekindling the spark between the two during the first film. He never gets the chance to express his feelings, as armed men storm the exhibit and take Sara hostage. The group lead by Jack Rankin, plans to use Sara to lead them to the legendary collar of King Midas, which bestows the wearer with the power to change anything into gold with a single touch.

"Hey, it's Hannah... get a snack. Settle in because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. But if you're listening to this tape, you're one of the reasons why." 

13 Reasons Why started out as a novel in 2007. It didn't catch the world on fire and went largely unread until something appeared to cause the novel to pick up steam in 2011. It hit the New York Times Best Seller list and started to become a teen phenomenon around middle and high school campuses throughout the nation. If Harry Potter didn't provide enough proof that kids were still reading and doing it for their own enjoyment, this novel should do the job. There are no wizards or superheroes or distant alien worlds to explore here. The work is a very straightforward drama about some of the topics that real-world teens deal with everyday. Nothing is really taboo here; from cyberbullying to rape, it's all covered. It's even possible this particular work has saved a few lives over the years. Now Netflix has taken on the book and its serious themes in a new original series bearing the same title. Suicide is the second cause of death among teenagers these days, and this teen drama doesn't shy away from the circumstances that might lead a young teen with their entire life ahead of them to a tragic and irrevocable decision.