Baby here again. Yeah, I'm the Shepherd/Chow that runs the whole operation here at Upcomingdiscs. I give the orders and everyone jumps. OK, I made that last part up. You know who does jump? It's those UPS and Fed Ex guys who keep trying to deliver stuff here. They're getting a little too cocky, if you ask me. The problem is that no one around here asks me anything. The only time I get asked for something is when a dog film comes into the house. Then Gino puts on the charm. Me, I think it's racial profiling, and I'm not standing for it any more. Besides, lying down just feels a lot better anyway. The movie is called A Christmas Tail. It's a kind of play on words. You humans think you're so clever. But if it weren't for those thumbs ...

The movie actually starts out with the pretty solid idea that dogs make great Christmas presents. At least that's what Jack (Cupo) thinks when he gets his daughter a dog they name Bear for an early Christmas present. Of course, she loves Bear even if he isn't a Shepherd/Chow mix, and it looks like happily ever after, right? One of the neighbors takes exception to Bear digging in his front yard. So he calls the dog police and has him sent to a shelter where Maggie (West) is also looking for a dog for her son for Christmas. Hey, I'm a dog, and already I knew where this was going. So while Jack is looking for Bear, Maggie and her son now have a new dog named Paisley Of course, it's the same dog. When they finally meet, they decide to share the dog but keep the name Bear. He dodged a big one there. I guess Baby was already taken.

Inside Amy Schumer is satire. The definition of satire is the use of irony, humor, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Satire, frankly, is not always very funny. I don’t find Schumer terribly funny, but she can be at times. I do think she is spearheading discussions of numerous issues. So how you judge Schumer can depend on what you think is important. It can also depend on where you stand on the issues she brings attention to, or whether you might even be a target of her satire.

This is the third season that I’m reviewing that has gotten some of the highest praise from critics. When they do that, they should at least acknowledge some of the juvenile thrusts of the material. I have no problem with sophomoric and juvenile humor, but the subversive undercurrent is far from clear sometimes. One of the most mentioned skits is the “Twelve Angry Men” skit. It is a clear homage to the Henry Fonda movie, but rewritten to decide the fate of Amy Schumer. Is she hot enough for TV, basic cable, or whatever? It suggests she might be put to death for her transgression of non-hotness. They have no problem pushing the limits of absurdity or the limits of basic cable.

A bit animated in certain areas, but all in all a pretty good martial arts experience in my opinion. The Guardsman tells the story of a man charged with the safe keeping of the emperor of China, a job that entails a great many challenges even from those he considers family. When word is received that a group of Japanese pirates will make an attempt on the life of the emperor and a group of countrymen are complicit in the plot, our hero is unsure where to turn and who he can trust. Fair warning, in true fashion of martial arts films, it is English subtitles, so if you do not enjoy getting your dose of literature, this may not be the film for you. Admittedly, it can be a bit distracting attempting to read the dialog as well as follow the action on screen. Despite that, those willing to undertake the task may come to enjoy what the story has to offer. I had trouble following the plot at times (and no, it wasn’t because of the subtitles) due to the shifting perspectives. The film is told from the point of view of several different characters. True, the Guardsman is the focal point, but there remain at least three separate subplots in regard to the assassination plot on the emperor. This at times makes it difficult to keep track of the story. One or two subplots is OK, actually two should be the maximum in my opinion simply to prevent overcrowding. I estimate around three to four subplots that intertwine with the main plot. Far too many, as at this point I found myself unable to keep track of everything that was happening. My opinion, the only perspectives that mattered were the assassination plot, the countrymen complicity, and maybe the perspective of the Japanese pirates as they made their advance; that way you had the antagonist angle covered. Other than that, all other perspectives could have been disregarded and achieved the same goal.

Now to the part that truly makes a martial arts movie: the fighting. Here is where I was most impressed. The fight scenes were some of the best choreographed battles I’ve seen in a while. As I mentioned before, they were a bit animated in some area specifically in regards to blood spatter and sound effects. Disregarding that, the fights were realistic even when it was one man versus ten. The way the battle unfolded with attacks and counterattacks was completely believable. Wire work was utilized at times but nothing over the top such as soaring forty to fifty feet off the ground in order to land on rooftop. I have no complaints when it comes to the fighting; it was the most enjoyable portion of the experience.