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Fri
19
Dec

The Trip to Italy a Recipe for Fun

The Trip to Italy

This follow-up movie to 2010’s much acclaimed THE TRIP reunites Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, this time on a culinary tour of Italy at the request of Director Michael Winterbottom. One might call it a tour-de-farce.

Mon
15
Dec

DVD Giveaway: The Kroll Show Seasons One and Two

The Kroll Show Seasons One and Two

This contest has ended. The selected winners are:

Kenneth H. of Elkins, WV (signed copy)

David S. of Denver, CO (standard copy)

 

Now here's something we don't get every day: a signed DVD!

We have available two copies of Nick Kroll's KROLL SHOW: Seasons One and Two. One of them is signed, the other not. Our first randomly selected entry will received the signed copy, and the runner-up will get the unsigned one.

Fri
12
Dec

Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special

Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special

Ventriliquist acts have been a novelty niche of comedy since vaudeville. It takes a special kind of talent -- not just to say things without moving the lips, but to convince an audience that the words are coming from the puppet, even though deep down they know they're not.

Jeff Dunham excels at this on a technical level. He has an array of voices that make each of his characters distinct from each other, and can "converse" with them, even "argue" with them, with a rapidity that staggers the audience as to how he can switch back and forth between voices, even interrupt himself. It's easier to believe the puppets are alive, especially when he begins to work with them in multiples.

Mon
08
Dec

Pumping Iron Gets Digital HD Release

For a good portion of Americans these days, when you mention Arnold Schwarzenegger, images of Conan the Barbarian, a killer cyborg from the future, an action hero or an aging California politician come to mind. Few, I would bet, remember him prior to all that when, in his prime, he ruled the world of professional bodybuilding with a dominance that made him a legend. Oh, sure, you may remember him as being big and muscular, but do you remember just how big, muscular and defined he was?

PUMPING IRON is a documentary movie, narrated by Charles Gains, the author of the book “Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of Bodybuilding,” chronicling the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia competitions of 1975. Released now in Digital HD, the movie gives new life to the legend that is “Arnold.”

Thu
04
Dec

When Santa Fell To Earth...From Gallifrey?

When Santa Fell To Earth DVD

Stop me if you've heard this one before: There's a rather quirky gentleman with unkempt hair who wears a floppy frock coat. He's on the run from a council of his peers who see things in a more serious and sinister way than he does, so he steals a conveyance that's little more than a big blue box that's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside and lands in the countryside and gets a couple of young people to assist him in avoiding notice by tall, bulky mechanical men who issue threats in an electronic voice.

Thu
04
Dec

Life Issues Drive BBC Zombie Series “In the Flesh”

In The Flesh, Season Two

For those of you who, like me, were drawn into this different type of zombie series with season one, I’m pleased to season two does not lose any strides. Taking place roughly eighteen months after season one ends, IN THE FLESH continues to evolve into as good a main line drama series as I could want, with undead people in it.

Tue
02
Dec

Win Classic Scharzenegger Pumping Iron on Vudu

Pumping Iron

This contest has ended. The randomly selected winners are:

Mary H. of Scranton, PA

Victor G. of Auburn, CA

Kimberly M. of Williamsport, PA

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this documentary about the 100 days leading up to the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest. Five-time former champion Schwarzenegger is pitted against shy newcomer Lou Ferrigno (TV's "The Incredible Hulk") in a showdown that is as mental as it is physical. With psychological warfare, intense determination, trash-talking, and the easy charm that would later catapult Schwarzenegger to stardom, PUMPING IRON changed the world of bodybuilding forever and launched both men's careers.

Special Features:

Tue
18
Nov

Afterlife Ends with More Questions Than Answers

Afterlife Season 2

The BBC series AFTERLIFE starring Lesley Sharp and Andrew Lincoln comes to a full stop after only two seasons, leaving behind a number of questions that will never be answered -- which, for a series dealing with the eternal questions, is just how it ought to be. Maybe.

In this continuation of the story of medium Alison Mundy (Sharp) and the psychology professor Robert Bridge (Lincoln) who takes an interest in her -- first to debunk her then to help her come to terms with her own ghosts -- we are told right up front that things aren't going to go on forever for these two. Robert is diagnosed early on with an inoperable brain tumor, which he keeps secret from everyone, even his ex-wife as he attempts reconciliation with her. Meanwhile, Alison -- who briefly died at the end of the first season -- has brought back a haunter of her own: her mother.

Mon
17
Nov

Tammy No Debbie Reynolds

Tammy on Blu-Ray

Melissa McCarthy's titular character, Tammy, is having a rough day. She hits a deer, is late for work, gets fired, goes home to find her husband at the table with another woman, and moves back to her mother two doors over, where she promptly announces she's shaking the dirt off her feet from this nowhere town -- again. This culminates in a wild, mouthy road trip with her grandmother (played by Susan Sarandon) to Niagara Falls, with no map, no plan, and no filters.

Fri
14
Nov

Legends of the Knight Far More Than Comic Book Doc

Legends of the Knight #WeAreBatman

When I sat down to watch LEGENDS OF THE KNIGHT, I confess my expectations were low. I elected to review it because I'm a lifelong Batman fan. At 6, I had converted the top bunk into Wayne Manor, with a hand-drawn picture of George Washington tacked to the wall that, when trouble arose (as it inevitably did) I would turn around so that it displayed the convenient sign "To the Batcave -->" after which I would then slide down the bedpost and prepare to save the world. (My youthful impressions of Batman were obviously informed by the Adam West / Burt Ward television adventures.)

I knew, at its most basic level, that LEGENDS OF THE KNIGHT was going to focus on individuals who were also Batman fans, and I assumed I would be meeting up with some kindred spirits divided among collectors and obsessors.

Fri
14
Nov

Shalom Sesame

Every time an opportunity arises to review "Sesame Street" products, I jump at the chance. The Children's Television Workshop has been creating masterful programming for little ones my entire life. Now that I have a toddler, its a wonderful way to review material that I can watch with my son.

Time is of the essence these days, so working and enjoying family time is a treat. Children of the United States aren't the only ones who have a chance to spend Sunny Days on the Street. My little guy and I often watch the Latin American version "Plaza Sesamo". It's a wonderful way to expose him to the Spanish language and cultural diversity.

"Shalom Sesame" offers a similar window to the nation of Israel and the Jewish people of the world. Disparate cultures are dealt with in an inclusive way that is a boon to young ones in our global community.

 

Mon
10
Nov

DisneyToons Flying High with Touching Planes: Fire & Rescue

Planes: Fire & Rescue

DisneyToon Studios (not Disney*Pixar, as would be an easy mistake to make) brings us the next installment of PLANES -- set in the world of CARS -- with PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE. Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) continues to make a name for himself as a world famous racing plane, which makes his small airport town of Propwash Junction a tourist mecca as the annual Corn Festival approaches.

But during a routine training session with his coach, Skipper (Stacy Keach), Dusty experiences an irrepairable mechanical failure. If he pushes himself to maximum torque any more, he risks his engine flaming out entirely -- and the part that's failing is out of production.

Thu
06
Nov

Edward Woodward Saluted in The Equalizer Limited Edition

The Equalizer, The Complete Series Limited Edition

Got a problem? Odds against you? Call The Equalizer. 212-555-4200.

Back in the 80s, those action packed nights of television drama, Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) was a sort of one-man A-TEAM. Disillusioned with his former career as a secret agent, McCall chose to retire and start standing up for the little guy. No situation was too large and no situation too small (although the smaller ones usually turned into subplots, while the larger ones drove the episode). Whether you were a high school kid being bullied or your invention has been stolen by a corporate giant, whether the bad guys are international terrorists or just a crumb-bum of a slumlord, anyone who called upon The Equalizer and truly needed him found him at their side -- and the fee was always quite reasonable.

Fri
24
Oct

Second Season of Courage The Cowardly Dog Double Helping of Fun

Courage the Cowardly Dog, Season Two on DVD

John R. Dilworth's cowering canine, Courage, is the reluctant hero of this fun cartoon series that blends the styles of Schoolhouse Rock and John Kricfalusi. He's ostensibly a "cowardly dog," and yet he shows degrees of bravery all the time that exceed that of your average dog. He just shows it without any external bravado. He doesn't run around saving those he loves with a grow, but with a tiptoe and a whimper -- but he still does it, because it needs doing.

Wed
22
Oct

Four Years of Buchanan High with Welcome Back Kotter Complete Series

Welcome Back Kotter, The Complete Series

A series doesn't have to be long-running to be long-remembered. For evidence of that, look to Welcome Back Kotter, the Gabe Kaplan comedy vehicle which starred Kaplan as Gabe Kotter, a high school remedial education teacher returning to his Brooklyn alma mater, Buchanan High, to educate and mentor a class of misfits who've named themselves The Sweathogs.

The series only ran for four years -- fitting, since that's how long high school should last -- but the Sweathogs, the irascible Mr. Woodman (John Sylvester White), the recipes of Julie Kotter (Marcia Strassman), and Kotter's endless supply of uncles who inspired so many stories, made an indelible impression on American audiences. Lunch boxes, comic books -- the usual marketing machine engines were fired up to feed the audience as much Kotter as they could handle.

Sun
19
Oct

Swedish Thriller LFO Delivers Low Key, High Concept Sci-Fi

LFO

Dark Sky Films delivers a Swedish treat that explores all the dark corners of the average put-upon man. In LFO (which stands for low frequency oscillations), sound engineer Robert Nord (Patrik Karlson) is a socially inept Walter Mitty personality who discovers a combination of sound frequencies that serve to immediately bypass and shut down the brain's sensory receptors. It not only puts the body into a state of complete relaxation, but it opens the mind to accept commands. In short, LFO's conceit is the ultimate in mind-control fantasy, put into the hands of a man with no immediate long-range plans on how to use it.

Sat
18
Oct

Witching & Bitching Bubbling To Become Cult Classic

Witching & Bitching on DVD

“Witching & Bitching” is a campy, off the cuff, over the top sci-fi comedy that just screams to be the next cult classic. This film by Alex De La Iglesia is made in Spain with English subtitles and is available on DVD from IFC films.

Mon
13
Oct

"Venus in Fur" Flows Smooth as Sable Stole

Venus in Fur

“Venus in Fur” takes place in a Paris theater, where the director of a play about a woman entering into an agreement to dominate her male counterpart, feels exhausted and frustrated after holding auditions all day for the woman’s role and not finding anyone remotely close to what he is looking for. Just as he is getting ready to leave for the day, in from the rain barges a pushy domineering actress bent on getting an audition even though she is not prepared (or so it seems at first).

Wed
08
Oct

Robot Chicken Serves Up Second Helping of DC Comics Insanity

#RCDCS2VIP

Lex Luthor in an 80s hair band? Batman baring his feelings of emasculation with Green Lantern? A Starbucks in the headquarters of the Legion of Doom? The real origin of Superboy?

It's your favorite DC heroes and villains as you've never dreamed of them before. Well, okay, maybe once before, because this is, after all, ROBOT CHICKEN DC COMICS SPECIAL 2 (#RCDCS2VIP). Nevertheless, even the first ROBOT CHICKEN DC COMICS SPECIAL wasn't enough to prepare you for the utter ballsiness of the R-rated humor Seth Green and the boys throw at you here with utter irreverent abandon.

Mon
06
Oct

"Groundhog Day" Meets "Starship Troopers" in Cruise SF Flick "Edge of Tomorrow"

Edge of Tomorrow on Blu-ray

I love a good time travel flick, and Doug Liman's "Edge of Tomorrow" qualifies. The unique twist this Tom Cruise vehicle has going for it is the method used for for time traveling, and the restrictions put in place upon it. Specifically, Cruise's character can only ever go back in time to a specific moment -- and to get there, he has to die.

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