Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 10th, 2012
I have read more than my fair share of comic books. In recent years, I made the jump into graphic novels which are basically the same thing with a fancy cover. There is also another trend that I have seen from time to time in the last several years, digital comics on dvd (and occasionally blu-ray). The concept of taking a comic, adding voices, sound effects and a little motion and coming out with a product that can reach new and old audiences. Let us take a look at Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous.
A female voice lets us know that something is coming, they can feel it. The view shifts to a young man who goes by the codename, Wing. He is a soon to be former X-Men in training. At one point in his life, he had the ability to fly. However, due to events not explained he lost that ability and in the process, he lost his will to live. He stands over a cliff and hopes for the powers to come back.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 6th, 2012
Review writers like regular authors often have difficult times coming up with beginnings. Personally, I like to use an event from my history or relate some curious fact that parlays into the review. I figure I will be spending eight to ten paragraphs about the actual product, why waste the time and do more. Well today, I am reviewing the Real Adventures of Johnny Quest and let us just say if it was up to me, I would deviate as much from the source as I humanly could. But onto the review I go.
Author’s Note: This is a Warner Archive Disc (or two discs rather). It is supposed to be available on Amazon in addition to the WB Shop but at the time of this writing, it is not (4/6/12). So therefore, if you really want this addition to your Johnny Quest library, go the following address (WBSHOP) to purchase it:
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on April 3rd, 2012
Much like a relief pitcher, sometimes a substitute has to fill in for a movie review. The person is usually a specialist, one who can write up a review in a snap, the blink of the eye. Well, sometimes the relief pitcher runs into a tough power hitter or a wiry runner. I find myself in a similar situation with the dreaded foreign film. It sounds clichéd and uncultured perhaps, but I did not even want to read today! Okay, anyway on to the show of Sidewalls.
The sun rises upon Buenos Aires. We get some depressing narration about the city and how overpopulation has basically made the city a shell of the splendor it once held. The narrator compares this to the humans within the city and how their lives have no direction, the same as an ill-built skyscraper. This narration concludes with a discussion of how letters and numbers in apartments represent class status.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 2nd, 2012
They came back to tie the game five different times. They were down by two runs in the bottom of the ninth and facing a closer who had been a perfect 6 for 6 in save situations during that postseason. They were down to the last strike of their entire season two different times. I guess what I'm trying to say is, at a certain point, it became obvious — painfully obvious, if you happen to be a fan of the Texas Rangers — that there was no effing way the St. Louis Cardinals were losing Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.
Personally, I didn't have a horse in the race when I originally watched this game live on October 27, 2011. (I'm a Yankees fan. Before you boo me, you should know I was born in 1982, which is the exact year they stopped making the playoffs for 13 straight seasons, the longest drought since the franchise became the Yankees. So they've been lousy for a really good chunk of my life, including during some of my most formative years as a sports fan. You may commence booing me.) The fact that I couldn't have cared less who won, but I also didn't dare go to sleep until it was over — and I suspect I was far from the only one — tells you how objectively thrilling this game was.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 29th, 2012
Bugs Bunny and his special Looney Tunes friends have been around for a long time. He first appeared in 1938 in his most familiar form. During the second World War he was a popular choice with the fighting men. Many of the cartoons of the era were patriotic, and some might even call them propaganda. They certainly pushed the war effort in a supportive way. When the war was over Bugs and his pals took on a wide range of subjects. Often movie stars were spoofed, and the series of shorts soon became a satire on the pop culture of the time. It's hard to really see it now, but Bugs and Looney Tunes were the South Park of their time, and no institution or celebrity was safe from being spoofed.
The cartoons have evolved over the years and have practically given Warner Brothers their identity for over 80 years. The characters still thrive. They do advertisements, and every now and then a new Looney Tunes cartoon show makes its debut. The Looney Tunes Show was one of those more recent entries in the franchise.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2012
In the 1930’s and 40’s MGM was trying to get in on the lucrative animation game. The field was dominated at the time by Warner Brothers with their Loony Tunes shorts, and of course, the iconic cast of animated characters coming out of the Walt Disney Studio. For years they had failed to find the right property to take advantage of the market. It wasn’t until the team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera approached the studio with their first project that the times did change, at least a little, for the fledgling animation department at MGM. The project was far from an original one even for the time. It was a very basic cat and mouse adventure featuring a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry. There would be almost no dialog on the shorts. It certainly didn’t look like much of a hit to the studio brass, but with no better ideas on the way, they went ahead with the new shorts of Tom And Jerry. There’s a reason why the cat and mouse pair is such a classic. It’s because it works. If you can make your characters entertaining and endearing enough, you can have a hit. MGM finally entered the major leagues, and the team of Hanna and Barbera would become one of the most successful animation teams in history. They would go on to create such cherished characters as The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, and, of course, Scooby Doo.
These were the days of the Golden Age in Hollywood. These shorts were not being produced for television, which hadn’t been invented when they began; rather, they were intended for theater-goers. In those days going to the movies was much more of an inclusive experience. You always got a cartoon short along with an adventure serial, the likes of Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and The Lone Ranger. These multi-chaptered serials were the forerunners to the modern television series. It kept you coming back to the movies to see what would happen next. Each chapter ended in a cliffhanger. These early serials were the inspiration for such film franchises as Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Finally you got one, sometimes two movies, all for the price of a single admission.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 23rd, 2012
Most of the people when they hear the name Titanic think of the ship that sank almost one hundred years ago to this day. Well, except for James Cameron who thinks of the oodles and oodles of dollar bills that he bathes in on a daily basis. Regardless, the people at A&E and the History Channel decided to bring us three documentaries and five hours of knowledge on perhaps the most famous ship of them all. The RMS Titantic.
Titanic: The Complete Story comes on two discs and has over five hours of interviews, narration, recreation and tons of old footage. There are really two documentaries here disguised as three (one has two parts) but each of them has their own theme.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 22nd, 2012
Even though I'm guilty of doing it myself, I always laugh a little when I hear someone complain that certain actors "just play themselves": as if you or I actually know these celebrities personally and have the authority to say what they're like in real life. Of course, what we really mean is most movie stars have found a screen persona that has connected with audiences and — in the spirit of giving people what they want (or laziness) — tend to stick pretty close to that image, adding only a tweak when we catch on to their game. (I mean, do we really want to see Sylvester Stallone tackle Hamlet? Wait, that would be amazing!) This isn't a new development: it's been happening since the days of John Wayne, and it continues to happen today with the likes of Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Jennifer Aniston, Seth Rogen and others. (Ok, so Seth Rogen probably is just playing himself.)
Few actors are "playing themselves" to as much critical and commercial success today as George Clooney, a handsome, articulate, serious-minded charmer who looks great in a suit. So when he plays handsome, articulate, serious-minded charmers who look great in suits, I can understand why some people may shrug their shoulders, no matter how excellent the performance is. You think it's an accident he won an Oscar for gaining some weight and covering his face with a scraggly beard in Syriana, but was shut out for superior work in Michael Clayton and Up in the Air?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 20th, 2012
After watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, my mind wandered over to Inception of all places. Remember how Ellen Page's character pretty much only existed so other people could explain to her — and, by extension, us in the audience — the rules of the movie's universe and what the hell was happening? Well, watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for the first time felt a lot like what I imagine Inception would look like if Page's novice architect hadn't been in the script: words and items have dual meanings, characters have double (and triple) motivations, and good luck figuring out everything that's going on in this complex world!
The plot, however, is deceptively simple: veteran spy George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is called out of retirement to uncover a Soviet agent in the highest ranks of MI-6, the British intelligence service. (I'll refrain from further discussing the plot so that I don't give anything away, but also because there's a decent chance I haven't comprehended everything that happened. That being said, my second viewing of this movie went considerably smoother than the first.)
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on March 19th, 2012
Oh, Peter Facinelli, how I hope that this movie that just landed in my lap does NOT feature you with glitter thrown all over your body. This movie is called Loosies, and no not as in loose like Kristen Stewart. I am hoping that the tag line, “Love is not a crime”, does not mean complete suckage, but from the description on the back... I am not hoping for much. I loathe chick flicks, and this reeks of one. But on we go with an open mind and an open beer (Okay, okay, so it's a root beer! Geez!)!
Holy wow! The music that rolls during the menu screen is absolutely awful. This can not be a good sign. Woosa! This is ok with me, Bobby (Peter Facinelli) and Lucy (Jamie Alexander) are in bed. She is passed out after a romp in the hay. Next, we see him walking around a red room. He gets dressed, writes his number on a bunch of pieces of paper and walks out. He's walking around town pick pocketing people. Oh that is a lovely job. Jax (Vincent Gallo) is doing some whacked form of martial arts?
