The Bleeding Cool Rich Johnston noted some rumblings at the Long Beach Comic Con about DC Comics packing up its New York-based headquarters to move publishing to the West Coast, presumably as part of the new Warner Brothers interest in consolodating and energizing its efforts with “DC Entertainment.”

The New York Comics Scene is already a bit of a myth, what with so many of the most popular talents who work for the NY-based Big Two phoning in to their Gotham masters from other states or countries–and more and more of them from LA, especially. With all forms of print media dying a slow, painful death, a move like this could be another sign that the only thing left of the industry in NYC will be the underground  comix–and even that subculture is being co-opted by the worldwide net of webcomics.

But then again, Disney already headquarters its publishing division in New York. Now that Marvel is set to become part of the House of Mouse and DC is going surfing, Spider-Man and his amazing fictional friends will have this town all to themselves (just like they do in the comics). Sure, plenty of freelance creators live out west, and even Marvel dabbles in plenty of West Coast activity regarding Marvel Films…New York City will always be the heart of the Marvel Universe. I have a feeling the Bullpen will always be in the Big Apple. East Side fo’ life!!!

Does this make Stan the Man an O.G.?

(Then again, the most mainstream representation of comics these days is the San Diego Comic Con…crap. We’re losing already, aren’t we?)

Khary Randolph via his Facebook page

Matt Occhuizzo via Wednesday’s Child (click for more!)

Season Two: A
For those who haven’t checked out season one or any other Lost seasons may want to read my review of season one first as the rest of this write-up may be full of spoilers.

The second season of Lost takes it up another notch as it begins with Locke and Jack sitting atop the hatch door having blown it wide open. What awaits for them is the key to the entire season and escalates the level of danger on the island, but it’s nothing compared to what the rest of the season has in store. Michael, Sawyer, and Jinn make it back to the island after being ambushed by the Others out at sea, but land on the other side and are captured by another group of people who appear have been on the island for a long time. Have the Lost version of the three stooges been captured by the Others or some other tribe? Michael has lost Walt again, and becomes an unstable force this season.

The hatch is actually some type of underground scientific bunker equipped with modern amenities such as a bathroom, kitchen, an armory of weapons, and a computer room where every 108 minutes a numeric sequence must be typed into a computer as follows, “4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42” and a clock resets once that code is executed. These numbers have been coming up in conversations and flashbacks from season one and has once again appeared in a maddening task that may or may not ensure the safety of those on the island.

Aside from what information could be gathered from the orientation videos, the function of the button is unknown. But what happens if the number sequence is not entered? Is it just a test to see if people would perform a task on the mere suggestion of its importance? The hatch also serves as a test to those who spend time in it. The worst comes out of those who spend any duration in the hatch, physical or mental. And the hatch becomes the most important character in the second season. It’s purpose and possible link to flight 815.

The raft captors turn out to be the few survivors of the tail of the Oceanic Air 815, Michelle Rodriguez plays Ana Lucia, a hot-headed former cop, and Adewale Akinnoye-Agbaje plays Mr. Eko a former drug lord turned priest who is connected to one of the major finds in season one. The “Tailies” have been thinned out by the Others and have led a much different month and a half compared to the survivors we’ve been following. Trust, and a lack of it is a big theme in this season and a reason why the Tailies act the way they do, practically enslaving Michael, Jinn, and Sawyer. Kate’s sketchy past is in full bloom as we discover what got the authorities hot on her trail, and tensions build between Kate, Sawyer, Jack, and Locke. Faith is another theme that weighs heavily on the Lost cast which goes hand-in-hand with trust. Locke has faith that he’s meant to push those numbers but when he is tested, how strong is his faith? Jack, who is a man of science has no faith in what Locke believes, only what he sees and knows what is right. Mr. Eko plays a priest whose faith in continually tested. Locke’s ability to walk isn’t the only miracle on the island. And the reunion between spouses may bring a tear to the kind-hearted.

Connections between survivors are slowly revealed, unbeknownst to the characters and this adds more levels of questions to the show. Many of them have met prior to the crash or have come into contact with a common acquaintance. How many more are there? If that wasn’t enough, a powerful body blow was delivered in Henry Gale (Michael Emerson) who is captured and suspected as being one of the Others. He claims to be another survivor from a hot air balloon crash but Sayid thinks otherwise.

The performances of season two was another fearless signature. Rodriguez, and Akinnoye-Agbaje were exciting additions and stole every scene that they were in but Emerson’s turn will stiffen your spine. Evangeline Lilly, Matthew Fox and Jorge Garcia also made good on opportunities to shine. Guest starring roles by Julie Bowen as Jack’s ex-wife, Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond, the hatch station agent in waiting were good too. By season’s end, a majority of the questions going into this season have been answered but the higher stakes gave way to a whole new set of questions that rope you into season three. Lost surrendered the information you wanted, but they dictated pace and then took that satisfaction away from you by leaving you at the altar crying. But there’s no reason to be sad, because you can watch it over and over and over.

Video: A+
The wrinkles in season one have been ironed out in this 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Having been to Hawaii I can attest to the stunning signs of the different terrains and landscapes. Seeing all of it in high def was almost as good as being there. I found no poor contrast ratio or grainy night scenes in this box set. The colors were just full of intricate range, skin colors warm, pores present, stubble-VERY present. This is what I expected out of the first season but there’s nothing to groan about this transfer. No muddy scenes, no edge enhancement or the fading Textures reproduced very well, shadow delineation was good as were the contrast and details. It’s a sparkling gemstone of a transfer and is enough reason to upgrade to blu-ray because it’s certainly better than what’s seen on digital downloads and previous DVD transfers.

Audio: A+
The English 5.1 Uncompressed DTS-HD master audio track is again, another spectacular audio mix. The same great jungle and atmospheric noises from season one are present in this track as well, but there’s a lot more gunfire being shot and some blaring sound effects like the alarm in the hatch to enter the numbers can get on your nerves. One particular episode that shows Claire remembering her abduction from the first season has noises that quickly flash and is grating after awhile inducing a migraine so believe me when I say that this thing is mixed darn well because the effect worked. Much like the video, the audio mix is notched up a bit and you almost don’t notice it as much because you’re sucked into the show so intensely but there’s so much attentive detail to the surrounding channels. It’s just a perfect mix on all fronts (and backs). Also included are English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks, a Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital track, and subtitles for practically every major language.

Extras: A
Season Play is a blu-ray exclusive where multiple users can view the season and follow the show at their own pace and pick up wherever they leave off. I don’t see why this is such a big deal, as it’s a feature that should be on all blu-rays (the resume function anyway) but I do like the idea of having different profiles because it’s easy in a family to get ahead of someone or fall behind but it will always remember where each person off. It unfortunately does not carry into subsequent seasons.

For owners of the DVD box set, there’s a coupon inserted which is a Mail-In certificate that will rebate you $20 for upgrading to blu-ray. A small incentive for stepping up and double dipping. Of course the likelihood of anyone who still has the original receipt I’m betting is slim. Still, it’s a nice offer. And to those who do have the DVDs will see most of these extras are the same ones ported over and unfortunately are still in 480i standard definition.

There are five Audio Commentaries spread throughout the first six discs on episodes “Man of Science, Man of Faith” with Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk and Jack Bender; “23rd Psalm,” with Lindelof, Cuse, and Burk, “Dave” with Bender, Jorge Garcia and Cynthia Watros; “What Kate Did” with director Paul Edwards, cinematographer Michael Bonvillain, and Evangeline Lilly; and “The Whole Truth,” with staff writers Elizabeth Sarnoff, Christina Kim and actors Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim. These range from an hour full of chatting in the “Man of Science, Man of Faith” ep full of observations and what the producers and writers wanted to establish in the second season to absolute torture in “Dave” where it Bender was pulling teeth to get Garcia and Watros to fill the dead air with real conversation.

Disc Seven holds the remaining extras which are split into three sections once again, carrying the theme of the Dharma Initiative videos into the menu and selection options. Disappointingly, most of the extras are in standard 480i definition and stereo 2.0 but subtitles are available for all the extras in several languages.

Phase 1: Observation

Fire + Water: Anatomy of an Episode (31:46) – The episode that rocks the relationship of Claire and Charlie gets broken apart piece by piece from the on-location pre-production, to shooting, color correction, and adding in post-production dialogue.

Lost: On Location (1:02:00) – is another excellent extra broken up into 13 parts and like in other seasons reveals behind the scenes challenges, themes and important moments episode by episode. Actors, producers, digital effects crew, and many others contribute entertaining interviews and personal experiences that pertain to that episode although Michelle Rodriguez seems to say the same thing over and over.

The World According to Sawyer (4:31) – Sawyer’s awesome catch phrases are highlighted here.

Phase 2: Conditioning

The Lost Flashbacks SD : The Wake, The New Au Pair and Locke’s Father are three character flashbacks that were kept out of the final cut for episodes: Abandoned and Lockdown.

19 Deleted Scenes SD (22:55) – show what was left on the curring room floor which is mostly side conversations or some other story telling devices.

Lost Bloopers SD (4:05) – I normally hate bloopers because they’re worth viewing again but this I found myself laughing pretty hard and would consider revisiting at a later date.

Channel 4 UK Promo Directed by David LaChapelle (1:06) – Another sexy and slick short commercial by music video extraordinaire, LaChapelle. It shows you the voice and style you can have as a director when you take the same characters and settings and give a completely different vibe.

Phase 3: Conclusion

Lost Connections HD – is a useful organizational chart of who is connected to who and how. The six degrees of Jack is amplified in this follow-up season and this chart is based on the theory of centrality in that strangers cross paths multiple times in their life.

Mysteries, Theories and Conspiracies SD (10:17) – Show producers and writers and yes, even fan groups form their theories and cases of mythology that surrounds the show.

Secrets from the Hatch SD (15:47) – Take a deeper look into the big arcs in season two. Not only is what happened inside the hatch set talked about here, but also the designing and creating it, and what manifested out of the main characters as a result from this major plot element.

Easter Eggs
There are as many as ten easter eggs that I found by navigating around in the menu. It’s hard to pick up from all of the artificial “distressed film” but the cursor dot jumps around when you push up/down/ or diagonal from the Phase 1, 2, or 3 position. Of the ones I found are Bernard up in the air (1:11) Kraft services dishing Dharma cookies on the set (1:16) and very brief diagram of island sweat (0:36). On the Beach with Evi (4:28) is an interview with Evangeline Lilly who is asked about the second season preparation and her character. Dominic Monaghan with a joke (0:26) Walt getting wet (1:12) a deleted scene of Hurley and Rose (0:29) Jack with a bleep-worthy outtake (0:50) Lilly with the baby who plays Aaron (0:31) and season 2 rain delays (1:12).

Overall Shock Value: A+
This season of Lost started by going against the grain of what made the show so good, but that proved that the Damon Lindelof and the rest of the writers/producers were not afraid to shake it up. By the end this season was even better than the first revealing even more about each castaway, sometimes giving more doubt about certain characters who many so blindly rooted for in the first season. The connections between passengers/survivors create even more intrigue and mystery than before and despite all of the guess work that’s involved, Lost is headed towards somewhere and not just spinning its wheels. There was lots of new energy brought forth with new cast members and the dynamics that came from the hatch. With a truck load of extras, high definition video and audio, Lost: The Complete Second Season is another must-buy package. Namaste!

Season One: A-
For the longest time I came up with every excuse not to watch Lost. I simply couldn’t keep up with it week to week and knew that it was the type of show that you could miss an occasional episode, and sure I could watched it online but I hate watching anything outside of my home theater. And after the DVDs started coming out, I knew a high definition version would soon come. That time has finally arrived.

For the few that haven’t seen Lost, the show is about the survivors of flight Oceanic Air 815 and the mystery that surrounds the island they now call home. En route from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles, the flight steered far off course and split into three parts. The fuselage landed in the jungle, the main cabin landed on the beach and the tail and the passengers in it ripped away in mid-air. It was concluded that the rescue search is probably looking in the wrong place and a rescue would be unlikely arriving. The survivors realize that they must work together to survive the dangers on the island, which include a monster, a mysterious tribe and even themselves. Each survivor carried baggage on board, and I’m not talking about luggage. They are all “lost” in their own life, many of them flawed with troubled paths that brought to Australia and ultimately flight 815.

Jack (Matthew Fox) is a doctor who never reconciled with his father before his death was bringing his body home for the funeral; Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) are a Korean couple with secrets; Kate (Evangeline Lilly) is a deadly fugitive on the run; Sawyer (Josh Holloway) is a conman looking to settle a score; Hurley (Jorge Garcia) won the lottery on cursed numbers; Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) is a heroin addict and one half of a British pop band “Drive Shaft”; Michael (Harrold Perrineau) is forced to be with his son Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) for the first time since he was a baby; Claire (Emile de Ravin) is pregnant with an unwanted child but is told by a psychic to keep it; Sayid (Naveen Andrews) is a former soldier for the Iraqi Republican Guard Army looking for his lost love; Shannon (Maggie Grace) and Boone (Ian Somerhalder) are emotionally damaged step-siblings; Rose (L. Scott Caldwell) was separated from her husband who was in the back of the plane but is adamant he is still alive; And John Locke (Terry O’Quinn), a tormented man, who up until the plane crash was paralyzed from the waist down.

While flashbacks are often a weak story device, Lost relies on them to reveal details about each survivor in clever ways. Because we know so little about these people the flashbacks are crucial and dispel preconceived notions that develop out of the willingness to succumb to stereotypes and tried and true archetypes for example: There’s no way a fat man can be rich. There’s no way a woman can be so deadly. Surely the redneck is stupid and killing things come easy for him. An Iraqi soldier is not to be trusted. There’s no emotional love in an Asian couple. And that’s when the writers of Lost get you with the element of surprise. Eventually, answers come but not before more questions present themselves. These characters have an opportunity to reshape their path in life in front a strangers who don’t know their past. Tthe audience often has more knowledge than what the characters know.

Eventually people split off into their role on the island, some set up camp on the beach, others at inland caves. Some build a raft to get off the island and get help prompted by Claire being abducted during by one of the Others, (a group of people who were previously living on the island) infiltrated the survivors. Locke and Boone meanwhile find a hatch to some type of underground bunker to which Locke feels he was meant to find since he has already been gifted with the ability to walk again. I’m leaving out dozens more storylines but mostly the show is best experienced with fresh eyes.

There is more than island action and science fiction though. The flashbacks open human stories that people can relate to. But it’s how these flashbacks carry you through the higher concept is the fun. There is such a large ensemble in Lost and yet not a single one gets grates on the nerves. The performances from Fox, O’Quinn, Andrews, in particular are the best of their careers and that’s not a slight to Monaghan, Perrineau and the rest of the cast because there’s not a weak link here, but it’s been some time since I’ve been this impressed with network television. While JJ Abrams, gave Lost a much needed midas touch, the credit should be given to Damon Lindelof who is the lead writer and continues to be an ever-present guiding force behind the show. Lost is show about redemption and reinvention and whether it’s the exploration of these themes, or you just want to come up with your own mythological theory of a bigger picture as to why all of these people survived, you can do it now endlessly in high definition.

Video: B+
Of all of the Lost box sets, Season One has to be the weakest of the bunch, but not by much. Lost was still trying to find its way including the pilot which was produced at a different time than the rest of the show. The presence of grain is more prominent in this first season compared to its subsequent siblings. Still the blacks are rich and dark but contrast is not as fine tuned as one would like as one can see during some of the night scenes when the details just get lost. Considering the rest of the beautiful bold green foliage and serene postcard views of Hawaii are clear to see, I think this lack of stability in the darker scenes just may be due to the way it was originally shot. Neither that or any noticeable presence of artificial enhancement should detract you away from this release though. It’s got the goods where it counts thanks to a fine 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

Audio: A
For a television show, Lost is the type of show that is enhanced by having surround sound. The audio, in high definition as well, comes by way of a English 5.1 Uncompressed DTS-HD master audio track and it sounds spectacular. It has both power and grace. The opening scene of the pilot has it all, a pure reference scene to be played in home theaters for sure. The high pitch ween of the engine turbine spinning with made chaos surrounding Jack will put you right in the middle of the sand. I haven’t made much mention of the monster on the island which is obscured on purpose but you can’t avoid the sound of it. Upon its arrival, your subwoofer will punch holes through your room as trees are ripped out of the ground and tossed into the air with a loud roar; it’s a magnificent spectacle that puts you in that fearful moment. Island noises like the constant surf, jungle noises, and the constant rain are pretty accurate even though much of the audio is put in afterwards since filming on an island can often be difficult. When things rustle at night you’ll find yourself looking in the direction that they’re coming in as the spatial sound has been mixed very well. Dialogue is set at a comfortable level no matter if it’s whispered or someone is screaming. I can’t imagine watching the show on a laptop after seeing it like this. Also included are English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks, a Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital track, and subtitles for practically every major language-I’m not kidding.

Extras: A
Season Play is a blu-ray exclusive where multiple users can view the season and follow the show at their own pace and pick up wherever they leave off. I don’t see why this is such a big deal, as it’s a feature that should be on all blu-rays (the resume function anyway) but I do like the idea of having different profiles because it’s easy in a family to get ahead of someone or fall behind but it will always remember where each person off. It unfortunately does not carry into subsequent seasons.

There are five Audio Commentaries spread throughout the 7 disc set for episodes: “Pilot I & II,” with JJ Abrams, Lindelof, and Bryan Burk; “Walkabout,” with Jack Bender, Terry O’Quinn, and David Fury; “The Moth,” with Lindelof, Burk, and Dominic Monghan; “Hearts and Minds,” with Carlton Cuse, Javier Grill Marxuach, Maggie Grace, and Ian Sommerhalder. I love commentaries and all of these with the exception of the “Hearts and Minds” commentary are full of great depth of the each episodes characters, storylines, themes and how each show took shape.

The rest of the extras are presented in three groups (Departure, Tales From the Island, and Lost Revealed) which have a play all option or can be taken in small bites. Disappointingly, most of the extras are in standard 480i definition and stereo 2.0 but subtitles are available for all the extras in several languages. There’s also very little that’s new for those who already own the DVD but, there is a Mail-In certificate that will refund you $20 for upgrading to blu-ray. A small incentive for stepping up and double dipping. Of course the likelihood of anyone who still has the original receipt I’m betting is slim. Still, it’s a nice offer.

Departure

The Genesis of Lost SD (8:40) speaks of the early inception and concepts of what would become Lost, as well as the early syncopation and bromance between JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof.

Designing a Disaster SD (7:59) shows how producers and set designers found a plane for the pilot episode and how they constructed the opening minutes of that initial scene.

Before They Were Lost SD (23:01) is your typical “assembling the cast” extra.

Audition Tapes (24:39) – 14 total audition tapes of the principal cast members.

Welcome to Oahu: The Making of the Pilot (33:22) – Shooting on location and the pilot and plane scenes

The Art of Matthew Fox (6:07) – Fox narrating a nice montage of black and white photos he took while on the set of principal shooting and later gave as gifts to the cast and crew.

Lost at San Diego Comic-Con (1:50) – is a brief reaction to the fan fare of Comic-Con where Lost premiered to an audience and instantly got great feedback.

Tales From the Island

Lost: On Location SD – is my favorite featurette on the disc where themes of the episodes are discussed, actors who are featured get to speak about their character’s arc, and any special effect unique to that episode is explored. I suggest seeing it in one bundle but I’ve marked out the time for each segment should you want to view them separately. (5:20) The Trouble with boars, (3:20) White Rabbit (7:19) House of the Rising Sun (1:48) The Moth (4:24) The Confidence Man (4:55) All the Cowboys Have Daddy Issues (2:57) Whatever the Case May Be (6:21) Hearts and Minds (3:05) Special (9:21) Exodus

On Set with Jimmy Kimmel SD (7:15) – is a funny bit from Kimmel’s television show and his shtick when he was on location and just being Jimmy.

Backstage with Drive Shaft SD (6:40) – A short featurette about where the song sung by the “legendary” pop band came from which isn’t as interesting as the strange lyrics or the bad sound of it all.

Lost Revealed

The Lost Flashbacks SD are exactly what it says, character flashbacks that weren’t used. At the Airport Claire (3:07) At the Airport Sayid (1:28)

Deleted Scenes SD are a mixture of extended scenes and ones that didn’t make the cut. Most of them not particularly missed but are worth a one-time viewing. Smoking (1:10) Chicken or Lasagna (0:42) Kate and Sayid (1:09) The Climb (2:02) Finding the Tell (1:03) For Vincent (0:54) Partners (0:55) Where did You Go? (0:55) The Huddle (0:53) Claire’s Doctor Visit (1:55) A Deal’s A Deal (0:47) Captive (0:28) Secrets (1:49) The Jack Situation (0:42) Whispers (1:00).

Bloopers From the Set SD (4:17) – A substandard collection of bloopers

Live from the Museum of Television and Radio SD (10:56) – a Q&A with cast and crew in front of a live audience that shows what funny guys Garcia and Holloway are in real life hosted by Hollywood Reporter’s Robert Dowling.

Flashbacks & Mythologies SD (7:28) – an extra about how the flashbacks were so important to the success of the show and specifically how much more is learned than the characters themselves. Also laying down the gridwork of the connections and questions without revealing too many of the answers too early.

While I haven’t found any Easter Eggs yet, I’m sure there are some because almost every other season has them. Feel free to share them here. Lost: The Complete First season is also tricked out with D-Box technology for those tycoons who have it.

Overall Shock Value: A
Lost is a beautiful, beefy, sexy beast on blu-ray that secures its hold as one of the best shows on television, now enhanced with a stunning HD transfer and immersive sound that lurks all around you. I’m not going to apologize for experiencing it for the first time this way because this is the way to watch it. But even if you have seen it all before, Lost is the type of show that you get something new with each viewing. There are details and hints dropped about the bigger story, and being obsessed enough to go back to hunt for these clues are not above the casual fan. It’s just a rites of passage. Offered at an affordable price with internet deals to be in abundance, Lost: The Complete First Season on blu-ray is one of the best bundles of high def enjoyment money can buy.

The Diamond Collection debut of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will keep audiences spellbound for hours with exciting content exclusive to this historic release, presented with spectacular newly restored picture and 7.1 Digital Theater System Hi-Def Surround Sound. Utilizing the latest in technology, possible only by the power of Blu-ray, the release includes Disney Smart Navigation, allowing the magic and personality of Disney Characters to come to life as never before. Disney Family Play, the ultimate interactive Hi-Def experience, offers a variety of immersive games, activities and unprecedented levels of personalization and customization features, to transform how families experience home entertainment together. The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition is a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack (2 Blu-ray discs + DVD).

Exclusive Snow White Diamond Edition Bonus Features

-Hyperion Studios Audiences are digitally transported to 1937 to discover first-hand the Hyperion Studios, the original studio Walt Disney himself built and where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was conceived and developed. Viewers will virtually walk the halls of this historic landmark experiencing life at Hyperion Studios back in the 1930’s. This amazing Backstage Disney feature contains newly dimensionalized archival photos, animator recordings, archival transcripts and rare footage of Walt himself revealing how Disney’s gifted filmmakers crafted the very first animated feature.

-Magic Mirror Using the latest in Blu-ray technology, the iconic Magic Mirror guides the audience through the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition features with ease serving as the “host for an incredibly immersive experience. The Mirror will recognize viewing patterns, knows where the audience has left off and will even suggest where to navigate next. This marks the first use of artificial intelligence in a Disney Blu-ray release and provides viewers the control to personally create a customized Snow White experience.

-DisneyView Disney’s pioneering animated feature is brought to the modern era of widescreen high definition viewing by allowing the user to expand their viewing experience beyond the original aspect ratio of the film. Utilizing Disney Blu-ray technology, acclaimed Disney artist Toby Bluth was able to “draw” beyond the borders of classic full frame cinema and fill the otherwise dark edges of the screen with beautiful custom imagery, giving audiences a new view of their animated classic favorite.

-About Toby Bluth Disney artist Toby Bluth tells how the movie inspired him to create the superb DisneyView art.

-Mirror, Mirror On The Wall Through BD-Live, this mirror can find the secret princess inside each viewer with a series of questions, then create for them a personal message from their favorite princess who will call them on the telephone.

-What Do You See? To win this exciting interactive game, players must untangle scrambled images.

-Jewel Jumble Players put jewels from the Dwarfs? mine in the proper order to win this game.

-Scene Stealer Allows viewers to upload a personal photo and experience life as one of the Seven Dwarfs on-screen in the actual film.

The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition is priced at $39.99 SRP.

STREET DATE: October 6, 2009
Direct prebook: August 11, 2009
Distributor prebook: August 25, 2009
Pricing: Diamond Edition Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack: $39.99 SRP
Feature run time: 84 minutes
Rated: G
FastPlay?: FastPlay enabled on DVD
Aspect ratio: Widescreen (1.33:1)
Sound: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French and Spanish Language Tracks
Languages: English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Technical specifications may only apply to feature.

So when the two become accidentally separated, Bolt finds himself in a box shipped to New York City confused of the world around him. Determined to find his way back to Penny, he relies on his dog skills and super powers to track her down, but there are no special effects crew to make him as incredible as he thinks he is. He meets an alley cat named Mittens (Susie Essman) who is forced to help him and the film makes a major turn from being an action film, to a road adventure across middle America as Bolt realizes the reality of his lack of abilities and what it’s like to be a real dog in the real world.

The harsh and cruel world of the Hollywood machine is satirized throughout Bolt. The excess, the lack of warmth, and the lack of real connection between people in Los Angeles is not far from many people’s experiences. James Lipton (Inside the Actor’s Studio) plays the director of the show, whose grip on reality is questionable at best and Mark Walton, a storyboard artist was chosen to voice Rhino, is inspired as the chubby gerbil Bolt and Mittens meet when they make a stop in Ohio, and he steals every single scene he’s in. From the performances to the work of the animators, Bolt satisfies everything you want in a movie.

Since the merge with Pixar there’s been some speculation of what the films will be like now that the animation houses have combined for the long road. Bolt gives us a hybrid of those classic cogs of the Disney machine and all of the ground-breaking technical achievements of Pixar. The affect of Monsters Inc. continues to live on as the detail of the animal hair is frighteningly accurate, and how animators are able to move a dogs face so that it convey the emotion of a person creates that magic of an animated feature film. The most striking thing about Bolt though is the painted backgrounds. Still a trademark, this new division of Disney blended computer animation with the painterly scenery giving the overall look a life-like stamp other studios will surely try to one-up.

Yet despite all this gushing about the animators, the bottom line is will the kids like it? Most definitely. Will the parents like it who have to see/hear it, oh several dozen times? You bet. Sounds like the old Disney to me.

Video: A+
I’m a film purist when it comes to having that thin veil of grain on my blu-rays, but every time an animated feature comes along, especially as good as Bolt, I can’t wait to see it in high definition. Bolt does not disappoint. Colors explode on the screen with complete clarity and appear crisp like fresh lettuce. Gradient color is seamless and band-less and the only time things look out of focus or fuzzy is when animators purposely created that to mimic what a camera would do. The transfer is in 1080p and 1.78:1 aspect ratio and is a magnificent example of reference material.

Audio: A+
The first 10 minutes of the film is jam packed with action that will keep your entire home theater very active with zipping sounds, helicopters rumbling through your room, and big LFE to wake up your subwoofer with something fierce. After that it calms down with some occasional music and atmospheric noise before the next big action sequence. Everything culminates to a big action ending, but the sound stage of the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track accurately places you in the scene. Directional audio is exceptional whether the sound is traveling left to right or front to back. Dialogue is mixed at a fine level, balanced with the remaining big audio. Technically, this is one of the best titles to come out in recent months and I challenge anyone to find something wrong with the video or the audio.

Extras: B-
If you’re a film buff, then there might not be enough here to satisfy you, as far as lengthy documentaries or picture-in-picture commentaries which I’ve really enjoyed with some recent animated features of late, however, there’s still plenty to dive into and for creative viewers and aspiring animators will enjoy everything that is on the disc.

There are three discs in all, but everything is on the blu-ray. The second disc is the wonderful inclusion of the standard DVD of the movie, for taking in the car or plane, and the third disc is the Digital Copy Disc for portable media and computer viewing.

New Breed of Directors: A Filmakers’ Journey HD- (4:34) looks behind the new division of Disney Animation under Pixar’s John Lasseter. The new blood looks to take their own approach and although brief, they make a great advertisement for the animation market, because where else can you get paid to run around in a human hamster wheel and get paid for it.

Super Rhino HD (4:27) – Rhino gets his own feature film that unfortunately for him is on the short side.

Deleted Scenes HD (6:38) – Two scenes storyboarded out with audio reveal Bolt’s lack of superpowers much earlier in the script; with introductions by directors, Chris Williams and Byron Howard.

Act, Speak! The Voices of Bolt HD (9:48) – Actors and animators talk about working together and the challenges each side presents. I think it’s always fun to see who’s behind the acting and seeing them in action. If you’re the same, you’ll love watching who plays Rhino.

Creating the World of Bolt HD (6:45) – Probably one of the best extras on the disc, this reveals Bolt’s crew discussing the painterly look of the film mixed with 3-D animation; also capturing the look of middle Ohio, the vast and open desert of Las Vegas, and the diffused lighting of New York City.

Bolt’s Be Awesome Mission - A cool extra exclusive to blu-ray is this three level video game of simple but fun shoot-and-duck gameplay enabling you to get better acquainted with the other buttons on your blu-ray remote.

Art Galleries – Lots to explore on the animation side of things in Character Design, Color Script, Storyboard Art and Visual Development galleries. Nearly 250 in all, this collection of the creative process often says more than what any little interview can say. Take a good look at the Color Scripts especially.

“I thought I lost You” Music Video HD MPEG-2 (1:47) – A bright but thankfully brief music video performed by Travolta and Cyrus. I’m sure the young girls would love this.

In Session with John Travolta and Miley Cyrus HD (0:59) - Lasting about as long as a sneeze, this sidebar interview with the film’s star voice talent glances over their recording the above song together.

Sneak Peeks Monsters, Inc., Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Disney XD, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition, The Princess and the Frog and Bedtime Stories.

Overall Shock Value: A
Unique and familiar, Disney’s Bolt is a hybrid of Pixar animation and something completely different. It is just a blast to see Disney forge ahead and take the great assets that are available to them (Lasseter) but also begin to redefine themselves apart from Pixar while retaining an all-ages story that’s been the trademark of Disney for decades. It’s a technical masterpiece that has to be seen and heard in high definition. The extras will leave you wanting some more but that shouldn’t sway you from picking up the Bolt Blu-Ray/DVD Combo. Highly recommended!

Ernie Estrella

Most things begin to show their age at 70. Not Disney films on blu-ray In fact they seem to get better and better as time passes by. Disney opens the vault once again for their version of Pinocchio, a sing-songy version of the morality tale “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi in this 70th Anniversary Blu-ray+DVD combo package.

Pinocchio has gone on to find other ways to seep into pop culture such as Astro Boy, Steven Spielberg’s A.I., and probably most successfully and recently by PCS readers in the comic book, Fables created by Bill Willingham. The sarcastic and often crude wooden boy in the Vertigo series is so popular with readers because it’s such a departure from the Disney adaptation, in reality is more like Collodi’s original story. But hand it to Walt Disney though, his version of the fable has graced history as one of the finest-crafted animated feature films. The story of an old and lonely toymaker and his finest creation coming to life has plucked the heart strings of several generations. Pinocchio also served as a public service announcement of “do’s and don’ts” showing the negative effects of lying, drinking and smoking.

Disney’s films did more than that though, and in Pinocchio he gave us characters that whether they’re singing or turning into a jackass, literally, we genuinely empathized with them. Disney turned Pinocchio into vibrant, gullible, and joyful slab of wood. We knew what Pinocchio was doing was wrong, but we wanted Pinocchio to turn it around. Jiminy Cricket became more than just an arbitrary character, he became almost the main character as we witness the impact Pinocchio has on Gepetto and those he comes into contact with. And the Cricket archetype continues to live on today, just look at most of Morgan Freeman’s career. Now while they Blue Fairy conveniently resolves things or corrects things with the wave of the wand, Pinocchio showed many at an early age, that there is consequence for your actions and no matter how many times we fail to see that in life, there’s usually at least one person out there who cares.

On the technical side, Pinocchio really turned animation on its side with its revolutionary recreation of movement and life underwater and the great chase scene with Monstro, the killer whale. The film is a real testament to the animators and what they were able to do to stretch the minds of viewer and allow yourself to believe that this world is almost real, for an hour and a half at least. There a lot of subtle brilliance in the craft behind Pinocchio and lots of the details can finally be seen in high definition for many more generations. I’m hoping that treasures like this are not forgotten in the often cynical scope of movie making and the three-dimensional animation we appear to be heading towards more and more. I still enjoy Pinocchio for its candy-coated simplicity, grand sense of adventure and the animation work of art that it continues to be.

Video: A

Pinocchio is presented in its original full frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio in 1080p VC-encoded high definition. The sidebars can be viewed in either plain black, or you can view them with painted in art which fills them in to match the background art of that particular scene. It’s not bad most of the time as the change is gradual, but in some instances it switches back between and forth in color and can be distracting. In short, Pinocchio has never looked better, and that’s no fib. The multitude of colors in Gepetto’s workshop for example shows the detail of every cell and painted background have all come out, not to the point of over saturation, there’s still a soft appearance a look given off by the all of the painted work, but reds and greens do pop on the screen. Jiminy Cricket’s detail down the bridge of his nose is ever present and is something I never really paid attention to before because it’s never been so clear.

Audio: A-

There are two audio soundtracks, a new 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track and the restored original mono soundtrack and surprisingly both are satisfying. Now the new surround track has a full-bodied sound with moderate use of the rear channels for music spill and sound effects that make you feel like your in a crowd or help you get into brute force and power of Monstro. The original mono track holds its own and that’s the way it’s been heard for years, with solid range and balance. The DTS-HD track is a nice upgrade and is a pleasurable experience for the family that doesn’t sound overproduced or unnatural, which can be a concern going from mono to surround sound.

The Extras: A+

Disc One

The big score starts with a great Cine-Explore commentary with critic, Leonard Maltin, animation historian Eric Goldberg and film historian, J.B. Kaufman. Every nuance and uncommon fact is explored in this track. The Cine-Explore experience is a great way to view the film with as many as three picture-in-picture windows showing storyboards, interviews with the original animators all while the commentary rolls along.

You can watch the film with on screen lyrics or just jump to the separate songs if singing in front of the TV is your thing. There’s a HD Music Video (3:15) by Meaghan Jette Martin, which is a 5.1, Dolby Digital, modernized butchering of “When you Wish Upon a Star.” There’s a Fun Facts track to choose while you’re watching the film, a trivia challenge, and sneak peek trailers for Disney Parks and Rewards, Bolt, Monsters Inc., Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition, Up, and Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasures

Disc Two

Split into two categories: Games & Activities and Backstage Disney. All of the featurettes are in 1080p HD, VC-1 encoded, and in Dolby Digital Stereo.

GAMES & ACTIVITIES

Put together six jigsaw puzzles in the Puzzle Maker. These games lack much difficulty because you can already see the piece in the direction it’s going to fit, and all of the pieces are different shapes. Something a bit more amusing are the four Pleasure Island Carnival Games though that require some button mashing on your blu-ray remote. Most are designed for kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years but falls short of the 8-bit games of the Wall-E blu-ray.

BACKSTAGE DISNEY

No Strings Attached: The Making of Pinocchio (55:58) – After the commentary, fans will want to race to the nearly hour-long documentary where the three men from the commentary come back to talk more about the evolution of the Disney film. Could there be some fatigue and repetition with the Cine-Explore? Yes, but not so much that you won’t feel like you’re wasting time, again especially if you love this film.

Deleted Scenes (10:23) – There’s some cut footage that never made it much father than the storyboards but they’ve included them here like the Story of the Grandfather Tree, (the tree from whichh he was cut from), In the Belly of the Whale and an Alternate Ending.

Sweatbox (6:25) – Film historians and former animators recall Walt Disney’s process of reviewing the progress of the animation with the animators and the director. This added pressure but opened dialogue to improve the film, a process widely used today, especially at Pixar.

Gepetto Then and Now (10:57) – A pretty cool extra that looks at how different real life toy makers and their approach in what they do for a living including a real Gepetto, a marionette maker, a toy collector, a Disney toy maker, a Tomy toy maker and Emotiv a video game that responds to your emotions.

Live Action Reference Footage (9:57) - Some revealing archive footage on how animators used live action film and trace over frames.

To wrap everything are three Pinocchio trailers (1940, 1984, and 1992), a deleted song about “Honest John” (2:37) and art galleries full of stills, storyboards and 360 degree videos of reference maquettes.

Disc Three

The third disc is actually the DVD with Quick Play which is great for parents who want to be able to take Pinocchio in the mini-vans and planes.

Overall Shock Value: A

If you still have it in you to enjoy Walt Disney films, or if you’re starting a library of movies for your family Pinocchio is a great addition. With plenty of extras to keep them busy afterwards and the included DVD, the high price of this combo package is well worth the investment. The story is still timeless, and the animation was and still ahead of its time. And perhaps you’ll think twice the next time you tell a lie.

Ernie Estrella

Feature: C+

A Spanish-based race of Telmarines have conquered Narnia some 1300 years after the Pevensies left (See the end of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) and their prince, Caspian’s life is in danger when his corrupt uncle Miraz and his wife give birth to a new son. Having killed his brother, Caspian’s father, Miraz sets his aim on his nephew so that he may be given sole rule over the kingdom but Caspian escapes and sounds the horn that would bring back the Pevensie kids back Narnia who are stuck in our world in England.

Sucked back into the world of Narnia, Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) rescuing them from the mundane human world having spent years tasting the life of a monarchy in Narnia. They regroup in a beach lair and pick up weapons and quickly rescue a dwarf named Trumpkin who was about to be killed by Telmarines. The kids don’t meet Trumpkin’s expectation and reluctantly brings them back into Narnia and explains his disposition. Thought to have been abandoned by the Pevensie kings and queens, Narnians (including the talking animals) fled to hidden corners of the world afraid of the Telmarines, without any leadership to take back what’s rightfully theirs.

On their path, Lucy thinks she sees Aslan (reprised by Liam Neeson’s voice) still having much stronger “faith” than the others. Eventually they meet up with Caspian and a small front of Narnian soldiers who are made up of centaurs, minotaurs, mice, and dwarves who reluctantly entrust the Pevensie’s expecting much older and experienced kings and queens. Peter thinks it’s best to take Miraz at night at his home and argues he knows best.

So they storm Miraz’s castle, only to have been defeated and Peter is now filled with guilt of sacrificing Narnians for nothing on top of abandoning them and a crucial moment takes place. Emotionally and physically spent, they retreat with their depleted forces and leave themselves weak mentally and nearly succumb to the White Witch who makes a grand cameo. Licking their wounds the Pensevies come up with another plan which invites all of Miraz and his men to their home base, Aslan’s burial spot setting up for a messy, convoluted battle that has Aslan coming out of nowhere and tearing the roof off this mother sucker with his massive roar.

There’s much too many battles, duals, and confrontations motivated by impulse for my liking and not enough in between to develop our four protagonists as to why these battles must occur. The Pevensies play out the same roles we saw in first installment and any potential to grow is wasted and so is the interest in either child. Difficulties presented themselves in adapting a screenplay since in C.S. Lewis’ book as Trumpkin tells Caspian’s story for nearly half the book but that’s not the biggest problem or deviation. A fabricated tension between Caspian and Peter (not present in the novel) was forced upon viewers with no real motive but the most interesting aspect of the story for me was the failure, short-sidghtedness and guilt felt by Peter. Everything culminating towards the peak of interest where the White Witch appeared but dashed soon after her exit.

Peter is able to redeem himself in the final dual with Miraz and all seems erased in that large moment for him, along went everything else in the film. Aslan’s easy disposal of the Telmarines is all too convenient and the quick resolution to mop up the mess appears largely negligent as far as I’m concerned. Why would it take you 1300 years to intervene? And now we’re getting religious.

The Christian themes are toned down in this story but they’re still there. The largest is a loss of faith amongst the Pevensies and Narnians in general and how corruption feeds on that letdown. Trumpkin represents that largely, ironic since he’s a dwarf, but if you have faith and persevere, you will be rewarded and it’s Lucy at the end who stands with Aslan. Loyal to the source literature, Peter and Susan find themselves never allowed to enter Narnia again (perhaps because they lost their faith?), Edmund will return with Lucy in the third installment because they still have much to learn and offer to Narnia, but I fear whether they’d be able to hold a film together or if people would care enough to know what happens from here.

Presentation A -

For packaging, Disney used the fatter three disc blu-ray holder and there’s a cardboard embossed-raised slipcase and I dug the menus a lot. The have just enough character with very subtle animation in the far background. A clip of the fine score and a tiny window scrolls through scenes in the film. As you thumb through the menus the run time changes under the title logo with a description of each extra. One typgraphic complaint though, the font used in the main menus is very difficult to read unless you have a big screen TV. It’s a gothic gont, but there are much cleaner old school fonts that would give that same old world feel. The loading screen has Reepicheep swinging his sword, very cute and if you bring up the menu while watching or listening to the commentary, the film shrinks down to the small picture-in-picture — a nice touch! Setup includes Subtitles for the English for the Hearing impared, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Korean, Taiwan. Bahasa, and Malay.

Audio: B+

Now this is what I call big sound. The 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio is treat for those who may seem a bit underwhelmed by some blu-rays out there. Prince Caspian is very aggressive at the low end. Whether you’re pumping it through five or seven speakers, it will fill the room with an immersive mix of panning effects and constant presence of the score that gets you edging closer to the edge of your seat. But sometimes you’re actually edging closer because you have to strain to pick up the softer dialogue. This is not the best balanced soundtrack. If you turn it up louder for the soft speak, the big actions scenes could blow out some holes in your walls. I found my wife sitting five feet from the center channel just so she could hear everything. There are also 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks available in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and practically any major world language it seems.

VIDEO: A+
The video transfer is phenomenal. Prince Caspian’s escape in the film’s opening is proof of that with lush forest environments, leafs on the ground, and just lot of fine details seen very clearly. It almost feels like Planet Earth because of the big New Zealand landscapes. The CG work looks equally good, the close-ups on the mice reveal many colors in their hair, the level of quality in the costumes is apparent and go to chapter ten to see how deep the blacks can go. This film looks first rate and the 2.40 AVC MPEG-4 transfer is as good as I’ve seen from the Disney library.

Extras: A+

Disc One:

There are two big extras on the first disc, Audio Commentary and Circle Vision Interactive.

The commentary has the four main cast members William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, and director, Andrew Adamson. A lot of it is the kids laughing amongst themselves and asking Adamson questions and him answering and lots of back and forth afterwards. It gets a little hairy because sometimes five people are talking over each other so to clearly tell who’s talking when gets to be a bit of a trick. Still, it’s a highly chatty track, which I’m drawn to and is full of good dialogue for fans of the film who want to walk that extra mile.

Next is the massive interactive experience of Circle Vision Interactive: Creating the Castle Raid which is introduced by Adamson (2:01) and are then presented with 10 deeper looks into the highly complex scene. Six of the features are narrated by Producer Mark Johnson, Stunt and Fight Coodinator Allan Poppleton, Visual Effects Supervisor Dean Wright, Special Make-up and Creaters Howard Berger, Andrew Adamson, Costume Designer Isis Mussenden all of which are insightful and exhaustive in breaking down theirs and their team’s personal involvement in the scene. All of them oddly enough have a running time each of 6:49.

The second part of Circle Vision are four interactive maps On the Scaffolds, Gateway Alley, Courtyard Nightshift, Telmarine Casualty allowing you to pan around Miraz’s castle in 360 degrees and are able to explore the minutia of the castle raid through quick facts, brief looks at the animation and CG work done, conceptual work and a handful of five to seven 1-3 minute long vignettes. I discovered that there was an index so you can see everything without having to go through the maps in circles clicking on everything. A massive supplement best taken in bites or else by the end, you’ll get pretty weary of the whole scene.

Sneak Peeks Pinocchio 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition, Earth, and Disney Movie Rewards finish off the extras for the first disc.

Disc Two:

Inside Narnia: The Adventure Returns (34:45) is an on-set experience, revisiting the returning cast and higher expectations of the crew. Adamson is interviewed often. Mild affair, not too deep, but enough for an appetizer for what else is on the disc. Sets of Narnia: A Classic Comes to Life (23:44) is introduce by Doug Gresham (Co-Producer and stepson of C.S. Lewis) who reads excerpts from the book and then shows how that scene came to be. Cathedral Cove in New Zealand as a setting. They even redirected a riverbed to shoot a scene. One of the interesting things about shooting a film is where to shoot it. Producing a movie in the city can present multiple challenges, but filming in the small town of Bovec, Slovenia is a different story. Big Movie Comes to a Small Town (23:13) takes a look at that experience. Missteps, mistakes, outtakes are found on Bloopers of Narnia (3:06) which I always think at most are worth playing once and not much more. Since it’s vogue to make ecological statements, Talking Animals and Walking Trees: The Magical World of Narnia (4:51) is about writing the theme of nature fighting back. Secrets of the Duel (6:48) takes a closer look at the big fight between Peter and Miraz.

The star of the film for me was Peter Dunklage, who I’ll admit is a favorite actor of mine, and watching him run wild with an over-the-top fantasy film made the film more enjoyable to me, so for other fans, check out (4:48) Becoming Trumpkin which does a nice feature on him and going through the body casting process. Get to spend a day on the set with Narnia’s other big little actor, Warwick Davis in the Man behind Nikabrik (11:08) another fantasy veteran. He’s got a charisma about him that’s easy to be caught up into following him around all day. Finally there are ten Deleted Scenes (11:15) with introductions/ explanations for most of which are extended scenes or were cut for redundancy.

Snoop around the second disc for Easter Eggs and look for symbols to appear and you’ll see in the dialogue window, no time or description is shown making it an egg. They’re pretty easy to find compared to what some discs, but so far I’ve found six: (2:25) Blonde Cam, (1:19) Toastie, (1:49) KC Hodenfield First assistnat Director/Co-Producer, (1:00 Monster Cam a first person perspective of being a horse-person, (0:54) Anna Popplewell, (7:46) Shane Rigi Bullgy Bear, Dead Minotaur.

Disc Three
Just your now run-of-the mill digital copy disc.

Overall Shock Value: B-

Technically this is a great disc. From the big sound to the brilliant picture quality this is one of the best looking live action Disney blu-rays to date, and I’m willing to put it side-to-side with other epic fantasies if we’re talking about how good films look and sound in high definition. If we’re talking about content, well that depends on your opinion of the movie. Folks drawn in by the first installment could be let down a bit because those introductory movies are really about discovery and opening the imagination to a brand new world, a viable entry point and way to be held throughout. Prince Caspian is the type of sequel that will probably keep you in the Narnia world for at least another installment or let you off at the next stop. A darker film than The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, with a lot more cynicism and direction setup for lots of large scale action and not a lot of development, but the roots are still deeply buried in family friendly adventure (despite all of the killing). It won’t get carved into the stone tablets of your favorite films and falls well-short of achieving LOTR-lite status, but it’s entertaining enough and gets a first rate treatment in blu-ray.