Disc Reviews

I should start by saying I just re-watched the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon on Turner Classic Movies, and I fell in love all over again. Olivier was never more magnetic, naturalistic and appealing than he was as Heathcliff. I have watched it many times and Wuthering Heights has been done many times. There have been recent versions with Ralph Fiennes and Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception). This is not one of those versions.

There has always been something about anime, as well as role playing card games like Pokémon and Kaijudo, that I’ve never quite been able to understand the draw towards them. When my friends talk about these games — with their booster packs and leveling up — all I can do is smile, nod my head, and pretend I have the slightest inkling at what they are talking about. Surely I can’t be alone on this. So when it came time to settle in and give Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters a spin, I was reluctant; I hoped, perhaps, I could gain some insight into what some of my friends were talking about.

"You call this plain clothes?"

Few shows in television history have the kind of storied history that you'll find with Cagney & Lacey. The show's own story would make for compelling television drama in its own right. It didn't end with simply trying to get on the air. The trials continued through three cancellations and an unprecedented recasting of a lead...twice. It's no small miracle that the show made it at all, let alone lasting for six years and a total of over 130 episodes and television movies.

Being raised Catholic the notion of God calling down to someone and delivering a message to help someone make a decision in life is actually a concept that’s easy to accept.  Whether someone else believes, well, that’s a whole other can of worms people usually don’t like to discuss.  But with If You Really Love Me we are given a look behind the curtain at one man’s decision to leave a successful law firm in order to fulfill the destiny laid out by what would appear is a higher power.

“Some people are lucky enough to find their true passions. That’s okay, because their passion makes them feel like somebody. Sometimes it’s the only thing that keeps them moving. I know some people don’t get mine. My passion is jumping rope…competitively, but I like it.”

Growing up I can remember a desire to tie my parents up; did anyone else share that desire? Don’t get me wrong, this desire was not meant with malicious intent, but to simply grasp the full attention of my parents.

“Imagine if you could never make another sound, not for the rest of your life.”

With those opening words, Marvel Knights Animation draws you into the world of the Inhumans, a race with many different genetic varieties. This 12-episode DVD shares one of the many stories from this unique corner of the Marvel Universe, focusing on the Inhumans’ home of Attilan, an island in the middle of the ocean. Ruled by their king, Black Bolt, they are content to live in their protective dome, blissfully ignoring the outside world.

I wasn’t sure what I’d be getting into when picking up this Bollywood animated feature for kids.  Though it has an Americanized voice cast, the Bollywood culture is more than evident throughout this feature, not just through the cultural views but the many song and dance numbers peppered throughout.  As the film progressed, there was one thing that stuck with me from the beginning; this film has a message, and it’s not subtle about it, it hits the audience square in the jaw with it. 

What do you get when you take one over-actor, one under-actor, a mythical creature, and place them in the Norwegian woods? The answer is Thale, the worst thing to come out of Norway since the Viking raids. This is quite possibly the most boring film I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen Rubber and Southland Tales). Leo and Elvis clean up crime scenes for a living. One day, while cleaning up a scene where a man’s body has been scavenged by animals, they find a hidden doorway to a secret room.