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04.30.06 by HTQ4 @ 10:33 pm  Film: Written by Karl Geurs, based on the characters created by A.A. Milne Features:
Released by: Disney Home Entertainment My Advice: Own it if you have young children. Categorized as: Animation and Reviews
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04.30.06 by Widge @ 9:19 pm   Audiobook of the Week: How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion by Daniel H. Wilson, performed by Stefan Rudnicki. I can't tell you how grateful we are to have this drop in our laps from Blackstone Audio. Countless e-mails pour in: "Widge, we've got the scoop on how to deal with zombies, what about the robots? What about the freaking robots?" Calm thyselves...Wilson is here to give you the full scoop, a brief history of robotics, and then how to protect yourself from damn near anything going Skynet on your ass. Highly recommended. (Buy it) Book of the Week: Olivia: Dream Big by Ian Falconer. If you're looking for a nice gift to give anyone embarking on a new adventure, there's nothing better than our favorite fictional pig, Olivia, paired with inspirational quotes from a slew of notables. Nothing new under the sun here, but this Andrews McMeel release will tide the hardcore fans over until her next full-length adventure arrives. (Buy it)    CD of the Week: Unexpected Dreams. At first, when I heard about this lullaby album, "Songs from the Stars," it seemed like a recipe for disaster. No offense, but apart from the folks on this lineup we know can sing (McGregor, for example, or even Reilly), does Jeremy Irons covering Dylan frighten you? Well, rest assured. The majority of these tracks are quite good, with only a couple of tracks having singers with qualities that set my teeth on edge. Scarlett Johanssen, much to the delight of men (and quite a number of women) everywhere, is a damn good singer. Lucy Lawless, John Stamos, all people you might not think of as singers conduct themselves well. This hits from Rhino. (Spare me the e-mails of somebody's ten-year history on off-off-Broadway musicals...I'm too tired to look up everybody on Wikipedia for a career check.) (Buy it) World Music CD of the Week: Ama by Yungchen Lhamo. Lhamo's new album hits from Real World Records, and comes with a nice mix of her own Tibetan lyrics and sounds plus chanting, choirs, percussion, guitars, and more. Annie Lennox even shows up to lend a hand. Fans should check out the opening track "Ranzen" and her reflection the tragedy of "9/11". (Buy it) Soundtrack CD of the Week: South Pacific. The point of contention for this recording seems to be Reba. Some people like her vocal take on the character, some people don't. Me, I'll give anybody from the cast of Tremors a free pass for most anything. Is that sad? I don't care. Brian Stokes Mitchell is...well, he's Brian Stokes Mitchell, so of course he's good. And Alec Baldwin sings as much as you'd expect from someone playing Luther to. So fans of the show will want to check out this Decca release. (Buy it) Categorized as: Recommendations
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04.30.06 by Dindrane @ 7:49 pm  Film: Written by Young-An Choi Features:
Dindrane's Anime Warnings:
Released by: ADV My Advice: Get it if you like mystery-adventure.  BASToF Syndrome concerns the world of 2097, where gamers fight each other in giant mecha...but in the vein of all cybernetic games, the game morphs into a mysterious "Lemon Game" and is bleeding over into the real world, where the city is being destroyed. To figure out what's going on, the game's creator calls upon the talents of the top three players: Pseudo, Bebefau, and Mint. In this fifth out of six volumes, we learn a great deal more about the nature of the conspiracy, including some of what happened with the Mayor, Pluto, and PX-1. A number of battles in the various episodes each reveal another piece of the puzzle; between ghost-sightings, mysterious marks, surprising hackers, and biochips, this is one show that keeps viewers guessing and engrossed in the action. The battles are a bit too appended in some places; they seem choreographed and included merely to entice pre-pubescent boys too ADD to appreciate the mystery and the world-building. However, the show has a great deal of promise that is being applied better late than never.  The visuals are quite good, as the show looks great and the artistry is solid. The character designs are a bit different than some anime fans might be used to, due to the Korean origin of the show. There's nothing wrong with the varied aesthetic, however, and it plays quite nicely with the style of the show and its contents. The Korean language track is of course skillfully done, with no annoying voicing choices. The English track is similarly quality, but for some reason, not all the voices seem quite mature enough. In either track, the sound is crisp, with dialogue balanced well with sound effects and music. The special features list includes a clean opening and closing and some ADV previews. A text recap would be nice, or perhaps some character profiles. But we'll go with what we can get. If you like mysterious conspiracies, then BASToF Syndrome should please you. It will also appeal to fans of giant mecha, all-too-real virtual reality games, and general destruction of cities. It is a very interesting series that draws upon the best of a number of different genre—action, mystery, science-fiction—without ever losing its own identity. Definitely check this one out, but start with the first volume. Ah, if only the entire show had been this engrossing! Categorized as: DVD and Reviews
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04.30.06 by Widge @ 7:17 pm As we previously warned you, Sydney's streets filled with the living dead. Here's the video evidence. God bless you zombies with signs. Genius. Direct link for the feedreaders. Previously: Double Carnage! I Love It!; They Will Not Respond to Such Emotions; But Sometimes Love is Not Enough. Categorized as: Stimuli
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