Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 13th, 2012
A small mining community in Western Australia get visited by a vagabond dog. This Red Dog (named after the fact that the red dust of that desert region stained his fur that colour) has a deeply significant effect on every worker's life yet not one of them can truly claim to own him until an American bus driver begins working there. Red Dog was a big fan of hitchhiking across the country and seems to be attracted to riding great distances on a bus with his new best (human) friend.
I should have known what I was getting into when I saw that this was a dog story. All the best dog films are incredibly sad. This film was based on true events and its saddest portions include heavy references to the saddest (true) dog story of all time (nope, not Old Yeller), Hachi-ko, the story of a dog that waits for his master after they have died (was adapted twice onto film, as well as laid out the groundwork for the most depressing episode of Futurama “Jurassic Bark”). The story begins with miners resolving that they cannot shoot Red Dog after he ate poison, but this is not the saddest part. Over half way through the audience gets an emotional kick to the throat that I, for one, was not prepared for. By no means is this a criticism of their storytelling, more a warning to those that may think they're in for a family-ready delight (ok...they ARE but certainly not without a box of tissues as a prerequisite).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 11th, 2012
I’ll say this about a program that has remained consistent in quality for twenty seasons…it makes for challenging reviews. Talking about each season of Gunsmoke is difficult in that you either write briefly to try to avoid redundancies, but might seem too hasty, or you have to labour over each episode, in which case, you’re only going to have hardcore fans paying attention. Since this website has touched on previous seasons: ( https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=gunsmoke ) I shall opt for the former option, and hope y’all out there catch that I’m not being hasty…but respect a show that warrants no fresh complaints after 7 years a-runnin’ thus far.
The most obvious change to the show that happened in this Seventh Season is expanding from half and hour to a full hour for each episode. This can be a great challenge for a show that was not originally created in this format. Doubling the length of each episode has allowed for more focus on developing the guest characters. There are no major plots that overlap several episodes so we can see how the hour long format aids this type of show, as well as helping to lay the groundwork for hour-long adventure and/or crime dramas to follow.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on December 11th, 2012
Even if you managed to catch the little-seen Budz House when it was released on DVD earlier this year, chances are you weren’t exactly begging for more. (At least not if you’re one of my esteemed colleagues.) The cast of the wannabe cult stoner comedy featured a handful of comedians, some of whom have reunited for this hybrid talk show/stand-up special. Although too many of the jokes rely on tired clichés, these live performers seemed infinitely more comfortable in their natural habitat.
The 67-minute special is hosted by actor/comedian Faizon Love, who played a character named (wait for it) Big Shitty in Budz House. We first see Love hanging out in a green room with some of his fellow Budz House actors talking about what they want to do next with their lives. Two female cast members say they want to be Avatars — one blue and one red — while another actor wants actress Danielle E. Hawkins to fart in his face. I realize the previous sentence sounds like something I made up just to see if you’re still paying attention, but I promise you this actually happened. After resisting the strong urge to turn this off after less than two minutes, Love reveals that he’s always wanted to host a talk show. And we’re off!
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: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 11th, 2012
The longest running show in prime time doesn’t feature cops, doctors, or lawyers. It’s hard to believe that The Simpsons have existed as long as the Fox network. While the series didn’t really begin until Fox’s second year, the characters were part of The Tracey Ullman Show, which did start the first year of Fox. Who could have guessed that an animated short from an otherwise horrible and doomed variety show would explode into such a phenomenon? The Simpsons have not only dominated the pop culture; they have placed everything else into context with their show. Like Doonesbury, it could be said that the only thing worse than being made fun of on The Simpsons is not being made fun of on The Simpsons. With that said, you’ll understand my warm feelings and appreciation for this show.
This thing has been on forever. Still, it never gets old. The show has a charm yet edginess to it that can’t be beat. Let’s not forget that while kids might love the show, this stuff is intended for adults. We’re not talking South Park trash talk here; every episode is a veritable treasure hunt of subtle and not-so-subtle cultural references. Even after seeing an episode several times, it’s not uncommon for me to find something that I missed before.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 11th, 2012
"Meet the Robertsons clan. They turned duck calls into a multi-million dollar empire. But running a family business is tough when the family just wants to run wild."
I have to admit when I got handed this to review my expectations were not just low, but part of me just wasn’t looking forward to this. I’m just not a fan of reality television with the exception of every ghost hunting show out there. I have no shame in admitting I want to believe. So a show about good ol’ boys that are millionaires for making duck calls, it simply sounded painful. But by the time I got a couple episodes in, I couldn’t believe it; I was actually looking forward to what shenanigans the Robertsons were going to get into next.
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 J C on December 9th, 2012
Coming off the staggering crossover success of the world’s loveliest and catchiest booty call song — “It’s a quarter after one, I’m a little drunk/ And I need you now” — Lady Antebellum were the kings (and queen) of the country pop world. (Non-Taylor Swift division, of course.) That means the pressure was on for their follow-up third album. Though Own the Night brought the band a more modest truckload of critical and commercial kudos than Need You Now, it also inspired the raucous world tour captured on this Blu-ray, a must-have for any Lady A fan.
Lady Antebellum: Own the Night World Tour finds lead singers Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott along with guitar/piano/mandolin player and background vocalist Dave Haywood in Little Rock during the final days of their global trek earlier this year.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 6th, 2012
“You think this can last? There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”
In the spirit of full disclosure, let me state that my favorite comic book hero is Batman. As a child, even before the sixties TV show premiered, I loved the tale of Batman. It is a story of a child who overcomes the fear and destruction of his childhood and becomes stronger because of it. He grows into an extraordinary man and, in spite of having no super powers, created a legend out of himself by becoming an icon for justice. Bruce Wayne channeled his lust for vengeance into mastering his intellect, detective skills, science and technology, physical prowess, martial arts skills, an indomitable will, fear, and intimidation skills to fight his continuous war on crime. He may have inherited almost limitless wealth, but he didn’t let it make him soft; instead he converted the riches into a crime-fighting asset. His behavior may have been borderline psychotic, but he lived by an impossibly strict, but simple, set of rules… no guns, no killing, no glory, but most of all, zero tolerance for crime.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 2012
"I'm back. You're welcome."
I didn't see the series during either of its first two seasons on HBO. When the second season arrived to be reviewed I was more than a little nervous about jumping in without knowing what had come before. Certainly, I checked out the buzz on the show and got an idea of what it was about. But nothing could have prepared me for what I finally encountered when I popped that first disc in my Blu-ray player. It's safe to say that you can join this show for the third season without having seen the first two. I'm sure it helps, but it didn't take me more than five minutes to completely understand who and what Kenny Powers was. He literally speaks for himself. I'll give you a quick up-date.
