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: 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 William O'Donnell on December 4th, 2012
Stemming from a backdoor pilot episode within the series Girlfriends, The Game is a comedy series about a woman (played by Tia Mowry Hardict) who gave up her career as a doctor in light of the success of her boyfriend's being a star athlete (this is the first pang of misogyny, with more to come). This is the show's fifth season, which is its second after being canceled by CW and revived by BET.
Most of the male, lead characters in this show are current or former members of a fictional professional football team called the San Diego Sabers. In fact, most of them seem to have been cut from the team for one reason or another but coast day to day on their fame and burn through their riches. The first few episodes do siphon some comedy from this situation when the character Derwin Davis (played by Pooch Hall, which is a perfect name for a baseball player...but that has nothing to do with anything) has to sell off his cars, home and learns the true cost of all things he used to buy while abiding with the “baller's code.” Suddenly a $900 bottle of champagne is no longer casually sent to friend's tables at the bar.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 30th, 2012
So you say Shipping Wars was not enough Waring for you? Are you back for more? Alright, let us dig through the review pile and get some more action for you reality show freaks. How about Hamster Wars? Okay, okay perhaps Paper Airplane Wars? Never mind, I can not stand paper cuts. Ah I have the perfect one here, a spinoff of one of the most popular reality shows out there. Its name is Storage Wars: Texas. Well yee-haw and get me my cowboy hat. This might be a hootenanny after all.
This season one of Storage Wars: Texas is actually something of a misnomer. It contains sixteen episodes and actually it is comprised of the first two seasons of the show. There is a distinction between the seasons which I will explain in just a little bit. As with any reality show, there are usual lists of players who need some introduction.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 29th, 2012
This is the eighth and final season of this slightly offbeat crime drama. Nothing has brought me more joy than seeing that instantly recognizable CBS packaging that is used for older programs being revived onto DVD releases such as Perry Mason or Barnaby Jones. Now Mannix has the opportunity to wow me as I have been before. Will this be a pleasant experience or surprisingly disappointing?
This show is pleasant enough to behold and was certainly surprised by the strange, almost comedic attributes that are injected. To draw this comparison again, I'm not talking about the endearing way that Barnaby Jones always drinks milk in his own series. I'm talking about Mannix getting hired by a politician to while riding a carousal, or surprising a musician at home who is walking on his hands for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Such things do not explain the plot any better nor suit the intensely serious tone these stories always end up taking. There were times where this series was reminding me of Police Squad! (a complete lampooning of shows like Mannix) when it should be demonstrating the seeds being planted for serious crime shows to follow. When a character refers to another as “baby” or says they “dig it” I can understand that as symptoms of taking place in 1974, but this show goes further than that into oddities. Heck, even the opening credits contains a mixture of images that includes gun fights, fights, skiing and Mannix burning his hands on some toast...I just don't understand what tone this show is trying to set.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 29th, 2012
Some movie titles are almost comically blunt. Recent examples that didn’t leave much to moviegoers’ imaginations include Cowboys & Aliens, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and, of course, Snakes on a Plane. So when I saw the title of Disney’s latest live-action, family-friendly offering, I wondered just how odd this movie could really be. (At the end of the day, we’re still talking about a Disney film here.) Turns out, The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a strange little flick for a variety of reasons.
Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton star as Cindy and Jim Green, a childless couple living in fictional Stanleyville, “the Pencil Capital of the World.” The movie very quickly and subtly — no need to bum out or bore the younger members of the target audience — establishes Cindy and Jim are not able to have children of their own. The couple is understandably dejected. To cheer his wife up, Jim suggests they write down the qualities their ideal child would possess — including having a big heart and being honest to a fault — and place the pieces of paper in a box, which they bury in their garden.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 28th, 2012
"I promise you the secrets of the universe, nothing more..."
It's been an astonishing 15 years since Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones first teamed up as Agents J and K respectively for the intergalactic police force Men In Black. The film was like a breath of fresh air. It combined top-flight science fiction fantasy with whimsical humor. It was a hit at the box office, and like most wonderfully original hits it was quickly followed by a sequel that had almost none of the cleverness and freshness of the original film. The film was so unmemorable that I sat with other critics getting ready to see Men In Black 3 and none of us could actually remember what the second film was even about. Years went by and most of us put the franchise in our rearview mirror.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 27th, 2012
Is it just me or does every new reality show have to feature the word: Wars? We have Storage Wars, Property Wars, Parking Wars, and I believe I just heard the other day we have Weed and Whisker Wars. Apparently War is good for reality show business. Well, today we have yet another war to throw on the proverbial fire. Shipping Wars, sponsored by UShip.com and on A&E Television. I guess we need to go find out which trucker will come out on top in this season one package.
The basic premise of Shipping Wars centers on the website known as UShip.com. UShip.com’s plan is simple, if you have something you do not know how to ship, you can list it on the website. Then for the truly odd items, the website offers them up to potential shippers in a reverse auction scenario. Occasionally, the low bidder does not win and the one who gets the shipment is the one with the best feedback. For show purposes, we have a usual list of players who create the reality element.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 26th, 2012
Mia is a successful architect who has recently become engaged to her boyfriend Tim. While attending her father's own engagement party she starts a flirtation with her soon-to-be sister in law. From there, a full on romance blossoms that looks to tear apart all she had established with her fiancée, and the rest of her family.
This is not really a typical romance story. Rather, it is a tale of how a woman acknowledges, then painfully accepts her true feelings and desires. Mia is a lesbian who has not accepted her identity as such until Frida, the aforementioned future sister-in-law, seduces it out of her. There is a ton at stake that goes well beyond flirtation. Mia has not come out to her family, and this revelation ruins her engagement and creates a strange link between hers and Frida's family since they are on the brink of becoming related by law.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 21st, 2012
A single father gets a major job offer working in a prestigious Chicago restaurant, but the job requires him to move his entire family from out of their hometown of Toledo. They are set up with a new apartment but their dog, Shakey, is not permitted in the building. This family must then decide whether staying for this swanky job is worth losing a member of the family, or is there any other alternatives to losing Shakey?
I have had a bad string of luck when it comes to reviewing films that place “Family Approved” on their cover. To me, this has become a badge of low quality. Alas, this film is not the redeemer I'd hope it would be but it does have a couple bright spots I shall mention.
