Home Video

In news that may very well break the Internet, if not classic television itself, Warner Bros. Animation has announced that the late ADAM WEST can be heard one last time voicing the Caped Crusader in BATMAN VS. TWO-FACE, with none other that STAR TREK's WILLIAM SHATNER voicing the duplicitous double-profiled double-dealer, Harvey Dent!

Here's the news released earlier today:

Here's why I hate "found footage" films: because when they're done well, they accomplish their objective and convince you what you are seeing actually happened; and when you mentally correct course in the middle of the film, you have a very disconcerting sense of cognitive dissonance as your brain argues against itself as to what is real and what is not.

Enter PHOENIX FORGOTTEN, a slow-starting documentary that picks up the pace about fifteen minutes in. It begins with a birthday party of a six year old girl, with her teenaged brother, Josh, controlling the camera. It is during the party that the so-called Phoenix Lights appear in the sky--beginning an obsession with Josh that potentially leads to his disappearance.

But Josh didn't disappear alone. He took two other teenagers with him, and they were never found.

Young Mary Adler (FULLER HOUSE's MCKENNA GRACE) is about to start first grade, and is resisting it every step of the way, preferring to continue being home-schooled by her uncle, Frank (CHRIS EVANS, MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS). It's not just that she is scared to go to school -- it's that the lessons involve 1+1=2, and Mary is already well past solving quadratic equations.

The Mystery Inc gang is back in another hair-raising (or hair-popping-off) adventure. Set in the wonderfully self-referential world of LEGO, SCOOBY-DOO: BLOWOUT BEACH BASH finds the gang trying to take a break from mystery solving, with Fred and Velma trying to overcome their square personas after Daphne and Shaggy have teased them about being unable to have fun. Their quest leads them to a beach celebration, where the two coolest teens are crowned "Captains of the Bash" for having led the other teens in having the most fun. It's a musical adventure straight out of a Frankie Avalon / Annette Funicello flick.

Unfortunately, the boardwalk is finding itself under attack by a pair of ghost pirates from the past, which isn't good for business for either the greedy land developer who's buying up the boardwalk, or for Mr. and Mrs. Holdout who run the Holdout Inn and refuse to sell it. Think you know who the mystery bad guy is already? You'll have to think again.

GHOST IN THE SHELL (available July 25 on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD) tells the story of a special anti-cybercrime unit identified as Section 9 whose job it is protect the citizens of the world in the future of 2029, where the gap between human and cyborg has blurred to the point that almost every human has some form of cyber enhancement. Section 9’s leader, “Major” (Scarlet Johansson), is the ultimate expression of human/cyborg integration, where the only part of her that is still human is her brain. After being told she was rescued from a near death experience, her mind was put in a totally cyber body--the first of her kind, she is told. As she and her team are investigating a dangerous criminal who is killing top executives of a major cyber technology company, Major discovers a shocking truth about her identity and past life, and seeks to exact revenge against the company that created and tried to control her.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND is not exactly a film that gave me high hopes in the beginning. Let's face it, the last two remakes of the feature (the 1976 John Guillermin version and even the 2005 Peter Jackson one) both left me very unfulfilled.

But Jordan Vogt-Roberts hits all the right notes, with a period piece set on the tail of the Vietnam War, and with a cast seemingly mostly borrowed from AVENGERS: INFINITY WARS. Vogt-Roberts wastes no time introducing the audience to the special-effects extravaganza that is Kong by starting in World War II, where an American pilot and his Japanese adversary both crash on the mysterious Skull Island, before fast-forwarding to 1973 and Nixon's "peace with honor" speech.

Editor's Note: TIME-LIFE is releasing LAUGH IN: The Complete Series on DVD. This review is for the unreleased version of Season One only.

Say lines like “Sock it to me,” “You bet your sweet bippy,” “Here come da’ judge,” “One ringy dingy,” “Veeeery interesting,” or “And that the truth” to someone over 50, and you’re likely to garner a smile and a laugh from them as you see them look back into their minds remembering where they heard those lines.

Rowan and Martin’s LAUGH IN began in 1968 and ran for six seasons through some of the most turbulent years in our country’s history. It was both groundbreaking and, by today’s standards, rule-breaking--and that is why it is still so much fun to watch today as it was almost 50 years ago.

The 4 DVD set in review here from Time Life--Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In: The Complete First Season--captures the first season complete in all its glory.

HEART: ALIVE IN SEATTLE on DVD from Eagle Rock captures the band Heart at the culmination of their 2002 tour in their home town of Seattle, Washington.

When I was growing up, there were not many female rockers who could play with the best all-guy rock bands of the day. Sure there were some who could rock, but few who could rock-out like the Wilson sisters. In fact, how many bands played covers of Zeppelin songs while Zeppelin was still playing music themselves, and got away with not being thought of as a cover band? (It didn’t hurt that Robert Plant had a girlie high voice in those days, which Ann could match and actually carry a tune better.) Heart proved they could play others’ rock as well as their own with equal aplomb.

They were the real deal then, and they are the real deal here.

ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING finds its tagline in riffing on the moral of Spider-Man, setting it on its ear: Great Power. Total Irresponsibility.

That's not entirely true, however, in this comedy farce starring SIMON PEGG as Neil, a man selected totally at random by a group of all-powerful aliens to receive genie-like powers over reality as a test of humankind's worth to survive. Of course, he doesn't know why he has these powers, or where they came from, but suddenly with a simple statement and a wave of his hand, Neil finds himself with absolute power over absolutely anything.

Warner Bros. turned in a musical delight when they released TOM AND JERRY: BACK TO OZ, a tale that inserted the cat and mouse duo into a Warner classic story.

So I was particularly keen to see how well an animated version of WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY would pan out with Tom and Jerry thrown into the mix.

The result: Good in some places, but otherwise closer to what you might expect when mixing a cat and a mouse with your chocolate.

If you've ever read Deborah and James Howe's children's classic series of books featuring BUNNICULA, then you'll almost instantly notice that this cartoon series is several steps away from the story you know. The characters -- the animal characters -- are the same: Chester (SEAN ASTIN) the cat, Harold (BRIAN KIMMET) the dog, and of course Bunnicula the vampire rabbit (CHRIS KATTAN) are here. Their young master, Toby has been replaced with a manic young girl, Mina (KARI WAHLGREN) -- no doubt as an homage to Mina Harker from Bram Stoker's DRACULA. But even the familiar characters are a little different. Chester is excessively paranoid rather than curious and leaping to conclusions, while Harold has gone from easy-going and sensible to an ADHD afflicted canine like UP's Doug. Oh, and there's no doubt at all that Bunnicula is indeed a vampire bunny who sucks the juice out of vegetables.

BURBANK, CA (June 22, 2017) – Jinkies! Yabba dabba doo! Heavens to Murgatroyd! To celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the founding of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s animation studio on July 7, 1957, Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) is releasing a comprehensive catalog of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons to date. The 60^th anniversary catalog collection is a celebration of the lovable gang of animated characters that children and adults alike remember and continue to influence pop culture around the world.  The Diamond Collection will include over 70 seasons of the most popular animated titles of the 50s, 60s and 70s, many of which have not been released on DVD or Digital until now. The Diamond Collection will feature brand-new packaging, new digital content, discount pricing and select free episodes throughout the summer surrounding the milestone anniversary.

FAIRFAX, VA (May 9, 2017) -- Named by TV Guide as one of the “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time,” “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In,” was also one of the most groundbreaking.  A fast moving barrage of rapid-fire one-liners, on-going sketches, musical numbers and hilarious social and political satire, it was an instant hit following its NBC prime-time debut in 1968.  Hosted by Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, the unique variety series – a psychedelic take-off of a ‘60s-style happening – perfectly captured the spirit of an era, launched the careers of many a comic actor and writer and fed a new generation’s conversations with hip catchphrases like “Sock it to me!,” “You bet your sweet bippy!,” and “Here come da judge!”  “Laugh In” would go on to become one of the most popular shows in the history of television.

When watching THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE, one must keep in mind that there are two Batmans. Batmen. Two characters of the same name that are both LEGO. There.

The Batman in THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE, voiced by WILL ARNETT, occupies the universe of THE LEGO MOVIE. The other occupies the LEGO DC SUPER HEROES universe. Both are silly, kid-friendly adventures, but the former really takes advantage of the wider universe of all things LEGO, and isn't afraid to be self-referential.

EMMA WATSON and DAN STEVENS eat up the screen in Disney's live-action adaptation of the hit Disney Princess musical, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

Watson portrays Belle, an educated girl forced to live in a small village of people who seem to revel proudly in their ignorance. She is shunned by them, with the exception of the brutish Gaston (LUKE EVANS), a military captain without a war, who has set his sights on Belle as his new conquest. When Belle's father, Maurice (KEVIN KLINE), takes a wrong turn, he ends up at the Beast's castle, running afoul of the master of the place when he plucks a rose to take home to his daughter.

DC Super Hero Girls return in their latest direct-to-video movie for a friendly competition that aims to bring peace throughout the galaxy.

Brought to you by Warner Bros. Animation, INTERGALACTIC GAMES features a ton of characters who come from all across the DC Universe. Coming together for a friendly competition, the three schools (Super Hero High, Korugar Academy and the Apocalypse School) participate in a variety of olympic-style games to win a coveted trophy.

When we first met Max, he was washing out of the military with PTSD after having saved several lives in the Middle East. But with the help of the family of his former master, he pulled through and became a hero.

In MAX 2: WHITE HOUSE HERO, Max is called into duty with the Secret Service when the current canine member is on maternity leave. He quickly befriends TJ (ZANE AUSTIN), first son of President Bennett (RIVERDALE's LOCHLYN MUNRO). TJ has been feeling alienated by his status as a protected child, and Max is the only friend he has, much to the chagrin of his Secret Service detail handler, who would rather Max be focused on security.

BURBANK, CA (May 30, 2017) — A looming global catastrophe forces Batman and Nightwing to partner with an unlikely hero in Batman and Harley Quinn, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe Original Movies. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, the all-new, feature-length animated film arrives August 15 on Digital and August 29 on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray Deluxe Giftset, Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD.