|
Posted on 10.04.08 by Widge @ 11:07 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own. An ongoing attempt to help you cope with the sheer amount of stuff people want you to buy. Should you? I'll try and help. If you do buy, anything you buy through us helps support the site, and we thank you.
Speed Racer: The Next Generation from Lionsgate is exactly what the title suggests: Speed Racer Sr. is missing but running around somewhere. Spritle is headmaster of the racing school. X Racer, Speed's oldest son, is rocking the house behind the wheel. Speed Jr. just found out recently that he's a junior at all. And the races take place in virtual land. Got it? What else is missing but running around somewhere are the three episodes that came between this DVD release, The Fast Track, and the first one. I'm sure you're not missing too terribly much, but it's bad enough to release volumes instead of complete seasons...but to skip bits? The final episode of the first series airs this week. For the moment, I think you're fine catching the episodes on TV, since the features here--animation featurette and a sneak peek with Jeff Gordon--aren't terribly extensive. But again, wherever kids are involved, you might not have the final say. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.) Categorized as: Headsup
|
|
Posted on 09.23.08 by Widge @ 11:14 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own. An ongoing attempt to help you cope with the sheer amount of stuff people want you to buy. Should you? I'll try and help.
Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is yet another of what we've come to know and fear as cheapquels, true. But at least the new Dixar regime tried to retool it and make it a bit more palatable before releasing it. And the original Ariel and Sebastian are back, and I'm always a sucker for Sally Field, who's playing the new villain. Now kids are going to enjoy this no matter what, and if you do have kids, then as we've discussed so often with these, you're already doomed. But adults are going to look at the idea of the King having banned music from the kingdom and Ariel's goal of bringing music back to the hearts and non-ears of her fishy friends and think... "Isn't this Footloose in Atlantis?" The release comes with deleted sequences in storyboards, a behind the scenes bit, a look at the Broadway musical, and more. If you can get away with a rental for your kids, do it. If you can't there's no shame in buying. (Click here to get it from Amazon..) Categorized as: Headsup
|
|
Posted on 09.23.08 by ScottC @ 10:29 am
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.
Belle Epoque. While trying to escape from the Spanish Civil War, young Fernando is befriended by Amalia, a free-thinking artist. They talk of life and religion and politics. Things get complicated as they usually do by women. Specifically Amalia's four daughters: Clara, RocĂo, Violeta, and Luz. All share remarkable beauty and their father's free spirit. Now Fernando is being pulled hither and yon by the sisters' desire and his own lust is adding fuel to the fire. Can love be found in all this romantic confusion? Winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1994, this fun and frothy romantic comedy comes with a commentary from the director, Fernando Trueba. Click here to buy it from Amazon. Categorized as: Headsup
|
|
Posted on 09.15.08 by Widge @ 4:59 am
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.
It's sort of impossible not to like Paul Newman. And I'm not just talking about the fact his brand offers up some killer salsa. I mean that he's been in so many great movies, it's sort of silly to call anyone a signature role. This would be a contender, though: Cool Hand Luke is offered up here by Warner Brothers in a new deluxe edition. It's not as deluxe as you might like (I'm still waiting for my Newman commentary, just like I'm waiting for my Redford/Newman commentary on Butch Cassidy) but it does come with restored picture and audio, a new half-hour retrospective docu, and a commentary from a Newman biographer. But no Newman involvement, shame. The film's good enough to own just by itself, but the features are a nice addition. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.) Categorized as: Headsup
|
|
Posted on 09.10.08 by Widge @ 5:28 am
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.
Transformers Animated is the latest iteration of the franchise, taking the Michael Bay Transformers idea and making it very kid-friendly. This includes a kid protagonist who allies herself with the Autobots and a very modern superhero animation style. This you can tell by the cover art in which even the Autobots seem to have magnificent chins. All sixteen first episodes are here across two discs. Now we previously mentioned when the first release came out that you might want to wait for this to hit. Now I'm saying that if you've got a kid who just wants to watch this on demand, you might want to purchase. Otherwise it appears to be playing once a day on Cartoon Network. And with this having a season 2 photo gallery sneak peek as its only feature, it's sort of hard to justify. But again, if you must do it for the kiddies, we won't think less of you. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.) Welcome to Wayside School, named as such because instead of the rooms all being on a single floor, each room is stacked up on its own floor, for a total of thirty floors. Todd, the newest student, finds himself on the top floor having to adjust to not only the weirdness of school in general but the weirdness of this school in particular. Paramount and Nickelodeon bring you this first season's thirteen episodes (twenty-six stories) across two discs. The story on this is the same as the above--although I can't quite tell when the show is airing currently, if a kid wants this show and this inspires him especially to pick up the original books and start reading, then more power to everybody involved. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.) Categorized as: Headsup
|
|
|



























