Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 1st, 2009
“Scooby-Dooby, Scooby-Dooby-Doo! There's a mystery in town, So call the coolest pup around, Call Scooby, A pup named Scooby-Doo! Join Shaggy, and the crew, Daphne, Freddie, Velma too! And Scooby! A pup named Scooby-Doo! When the ghostly ghoul attacks, Scooby eats a Scooby Snack! Scooby-Dooby-Doo! So come on, it's mystery time, You can help us solve the crime, With Scooby, a pup named Scooby, Scooby, a pup named Scooby-Doo!”
First there was Muppet Babies. Then there were Tiny Toons. It seems that every famous children’s cartoon series eventually turns back the clock to offer up pintsized versions of the same formula. That’s what you get in A Pup Named Scooby Doo. The show aired 1988 through 1991. It was on somewhat erratically so that, while the box claims this 2 disc set contains the complete 2,3, & 4 seasons, that really only adds up to 17 half hour episodes in all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 1st, 2009
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 29th, 2009
"Chicano" is a term for a Mexican American (US born with Mexican ancestry).
El Chicano was and is a band that started in the late 60s as club players called The V.I.Ps (playing after hours at a Japanese restaurant in East Los Angeles) who became popular because of their jazzy approach to Latin rock. This musical approach was really defined by this band, as well as by Santana who started about the same time, and their songs became the anthems for the "Chicano Movement" around the late sixties and early seventies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 28th, 2009
Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) have been friends since school, and are now terminally broke roommates. As their utilities are turned off one by one, and they face the prospect of eviction, Zack hits on the idea of shooting a porn flick to get out of debt. They gather together a motley collection of actors and crew, and, letting no setback stand in their way, start making their movie. But the real question is not whether they will succeed, but whether they will come to terms with their feeling for each other.
In his review of the film Roger Ebert writes, “'I don't know bleep about directing,' Smith once confided to me. 'But I'm a bleeping good writer.'” Smith is half-right. The direction here is very meat-and-potatoes, every shot serving little more than to get the actors decently framed. But I can't agree with his self-estimation as a writer. There are some funny lines here, but many of the laughs are due to Smith's stellar cast. Rogen does his usual shtick, but it's still funny, thanks to his appealing naive/cynic vibe and befuddled stoner delivery. Justin Long shows up for a single scene, and walks off with the movie. None of his lines are particularly stellar, but his cameo is hysterical, all of it due to voice and body language. The man could make the yellow pages side-splitting. This is not to say that Smith's script is that dry, but it veers between clumsy earnestness (I kept waiting for the punchline during the final emotional speeches, the clue that I wasn't really supposed to take this hackneyed dialogue seriously, and it never came) and a potty mouth approach that clearly finds naughty words to be funny in and of themselves. You know, like we all did in grade five. David Mamet this is not. But when all is said and done, there's the cast. Determined to save Smith from himself, they make the film a bizarrely endearing and sweet experience.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 16th, 2009
“When you wish upon a star. Makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.
When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do… Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through. When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.”
The song has become a standard. Every kid knows it. Walt Disney Studios has made it their theme song. You hear it each time you load up a Disney disc. If you have been fortunate enough to have visited Walt Disney World, you’ve heard it the entire day long. We know the song, but did you know where it originated from? It was back in 1940 and the release of Walt Disney’s, in fact, the world’s, second ever feature length animated film: Pinocchio. Now Disney brings us this timeless classic on high definition and Blu-ray. What a marvel this release is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 7th, 2009
"There are more fat people in American than there are people." That's the dry wit of Tom Baker, Little Britain USA's narrator, introducing a sketch about "Fat Fighter" Marjorie Dawes. If the series stuck with that brand of humor, I'd have enjoyed it thoroughly. Instead, it goes places so crude I was continually startled by its outrageous comedy. I'm of the opinion that blue humor is a love-it-or-hate-it genre. If you enjoy the nasty stuff, Little Britain USA : the complete first season is definitely up your alley. Mine? Not so much.
The series is yet another British invasion, having begun as a program in the U.K. before crossing over the Atlantic to reach American audiences, like The Office, Life on Mars and many others. Of course, this time it's still helmed and starred in by its original creators, which should alleviate the concerns of fans of the British version. And in this case, I wasn't familiar with the original series, so Little Britain USA was my introduction to the talents of show creators and stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams. They play most, but not all, of the regular sketch characters, which include the above-mentioned Fat Fighter, horny prime minister Sebastian Love, grossly obese seductress Bubbles Devere, over-muscled homoerotic gym buddies Mark and Tom, eighth man on the moon Bing Gordyn and many others. They're joined in the six episodes of this first season by guest stars like Rosie O'Donnell, Paul Rudd, Sting and Vivica A. Fox.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2009
The French Connection had one of the best film endings a show of this kind could ask for. There was absolutely no need for a sequel. Obviously the success of the first film laid the groundwork for another adventure. In reality the case was rather left open, so there was certainly room to follow up the action. The problem is that none of the elements from the first film remain in the second beyond Gene Hackman’s portrayal of Popeye Doyle and the return of Fernando Rey as the villain Charnier. Friedkin would not return to direct, and even though he was replaced by an even greater director in John Frankenheimer, not much of the original crew remained. Neither Egan nor Grosso were used to consult on the film, and of course, Grosso’s character along with the corresponding Roy Scheider were gone from this film. The gritty streets of New York were replaced by the streets of France. Even the Poughkeepsie line used in the film’s early minutes is a throwaway line meant merely as a wink to the audience. The film has none of the police procedural drive and passion that the original had. In short, this sequel lacks almost everything that made the first a great film. But in spite of all it did not have, it managed to at least be a good film.
None of this film occurs in New York. We begin with Doyle (Hackman) arriving in France to track down “Frog #1”, Charnier (Rey). He doesn’t attempt to hide his contempt for the French and so does little to endear himself with the local police here. Instead they’ve invited him merely to be a target to lure Charnier out of hiding. It backfires, and Doyle is captured instead and hooked on heroin so that Charnier can find out what they know. The film becomes far more of a personal journey for Doyle and less about catching the bad guy. Fortunately Hackman is up for the job and puts in a highly emotionally charged performance. He has to play Doyle, first as a forced junkie, then in the throes of detox. Here we find the film’s best moments. He has a rather long interaction with a French detective (Fresson). This scene is priceless and alone worth the price of admission. In the end it’s a film about obsession as large as the great white whale in Moby Dick.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 18th, 2009
Everything you loved from the first film is back again. Dreamworks took the high road and brought all of the voice cast back. That means the wonderful chemistry these characters developed in the first film gets to continue. We don’t have to waste time setting up new bonds. We can get right to the adventure. Dreamworks also retained pretty much the entire animation team and added even more talent. The quality of this animation actually improves upon that of the original. Water, in particular, is startling on this film. It is as photo real as I’ve seen it in any animation feature to date. The characters are a little blocky, evidenced by Alex’s paws, but that’s really a style decision and not an animation flaw. Another stand-out rendering is the dust factor. Throughout the film dust plays an important role in the overall look of the picture. Again, you get incredibly photo real particles or clouds of dust in this film. Both of these achievements are milestones in animation technology. Of course, technology is only as good as what you do with it. We get lovable characters in very interesting situations. If you even liked the first film, I think you’ll love this film even more….Except for that pesky “Move It Move It” nonsense.
The film opens up with a quick recap of the events of the first feature. We also get to go further into the past for a very brief encounter with our zoo friends as babies. (Do I smell a cartoon series or prequel film coming our way?) After that quick recap, we join the zoo gang where we last saw them, in the wilds of Madagascar. The Penguins have repaired an old aircraft and set it up on a huge slingshot in preparation for a flight back to the New York Zoo. There’s tearful goodbyes all around, but unfortunately, King Julien decides to join the gang on their return home. The Air Penguin has a successful takeoff, but makes it only as far as the African mainland before it crash lands. Once in Africa, the zoo gang gets to meet wild members of their own kind. Alex (Stiller) discovers his parents and learns how it was that he came to be at the zoo. Gloria (Smith) finds that the African plains are just “raining” male hippos. She hooks up with the continent’s resident stud, Moto Moto (Am). Of course, that’s going to bring out the jealousy in Melman (Schwimmer). Melman also discovers that all giraffes are by nature hypochondriacs and usually crawl off to die at the first sign of illness. His vast knowledge of medicine earns him the rank of herd witch doctor. Mart (Rock) discovers that all zebra look and sound exactly alike. He gets depressed by his perceived lack of uniqueness. Zuba (Mac), Alex’s father, is the ruler of this particular part of Africa. His reign has been plagued by the conniving of fellow lion, Makunga (Baldwin). He’ll use the return of Alex to gain control of the crown. When Alex fails a coming of age ritual, Zuba abdicates and Makunga is in control. Unfortunately, his reign is soon threatened by the dry up of the watering hole. Alex, intent on proving himself, sets out to return the flow of water to the hole. With Marty by his side, they trace the problem to a dam, built by New York tourists that include the old lady who gave Alex a whoopin’ in the first film. Ninja Nana has organized the tourists who have been stranded by the penguins’ commando raids to salvage parts to repair the plane. While Alex and Marty set out to fix the problem, King Julien has another plan. He wants to sacrifice someone to the mighty volcano to please the “water gods”. Thinking he’s dying anyway, and has lost Gloria, Melman volunteers to be fed to the volcano. These events all converge into an ending very much a Madagascar adventure. For a running time less than an hour and a half, there is no wasted time at all here. If anything, the story all seems to happen so fast that it’s over before you start to sink your teeth into it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009
Marvel has been pretty busy lately. Since starting their own film studio to work on their iconic characters, we’ve seen a lot of the Marvel universe of late. This past summer saw not one, but two of Marvel’s stable characters enjoy blockbuster releases on the live action front. Iron Man captured world wide attention and the hundreds of millions that go with it. While the new Hulk film didn’t bring with it the same kind of financial bounty, it was a well respected film that won over much of the character’s fan base, lost when Ang Lee put together his horrible Hulk feature some years ago. If anything, the unlikely casting of Ed Norton brought that film closer to the beloved television series than the classic comics from the 1960’s and 70’s. Now Marvel’s animation lines have been churning out full length animated adventures of many of their popular heroes. Most recently Iron Man got the predictable full length treatment. Now it’s The Hulk’s turn, but there is a bit of a twist to the formula. Instead of one longer effort, Marvel decided to go with two shorter stories, likely to bring in as many of the other Marvel franchises for the ride. In case you’ve been sleeping on another planet, Marvel is inching toward a grand Avenger film. The plans include more live action movies featuring Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and, of course, The Hulk. There is also an aggressive slate of these direct to video animated efforts, all leading toward an Avengers project.
We all know that by himself, The Hulk can be an awkward character. He has always shone best in the comics when he had someone else to beat up on. These “Clash Of Titan” titles have been milestone events in the green monster’s legacy. It’s no great surprise that anyone who loved these moments in the comics would expect to see them as part of a new animated Hulk franchise. Enter the new Hulk vs. series. This release contains two such pairings:
![Pinocchio (Two-Disc 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition + Standard DVD) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/pinocchio-two-disc-70th-anniversar-large.jpg)
![French Connection 2 [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/french-connection-2-blu-ray-large.jpg)
