Year: 2009
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Rated: G
SRP: $44.95
Studio(s): Disney Studios
Release Date: March 16, 2010

Film/Feature: A–

You’re never too old to enjoy a Disney film, and if you find yourself at that place, then you may have lost your ability to have fun. Luckily for Disney animation, they haven’t lost their touch in making family films to lose yourself for an hour or two and let your inner-kid enjoy itself. In a brave move, Disney went against the grain and made a new hand-drawn animated feature going back to its roots to put their spin on another fairy tale. This time it was the Brothers Grimm tale of The Princess and the Frog.

Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) is a young and independent woman raised by a hard-working parents (Oprah Winfrey and Terrence Howard) and is saving up to open her own restaurant. She has been childhood friends with Charlotte, who was raised in a well-to-do aristocrat family and has taken the “wishing upon a star” literally. Tiana on the other hand, thinks good will only come to those who work for it.

Fifteen minutes in, and you might look at the cover of the box and wonder if you bought the right film. Disney’s twist of the Princess and the Frog fairy tale finally takes form when Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) and his servant, Lawrence arrive to look for a rich suitor because they are broke. Charlotte’s father gets wind that a prince is in town and gets whatever his little girl wants and throws a big ball for his daughter to meet the prince. However, New Orleans is a town of opportunists like Dr. Facilier (Keith David), a voodoo magician who promises to fulfill their wishes before showing up to the ball. But the servant has taken the form of Prince Naveen, and Naveen has been turned into a frog. Naveen is able to convince Tiana that he is a prince, and all she needs to do is give him a kiss and he’ll revert back to his human form.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out that smoothly and Tiana is instead turned into a frog and the leap into the swamps and bayou with the help of Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a trumpet-tooting alligator and Ray (Jim Cummings), a romantic ragin’ Cajun lightning bug to find Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), a good witch who they hope to have some answers for them. If they remain in frog form too long, they could stay that way forever. The story is light road tale of perseverance, but has enough plot elements that keep pulling along your interest throughout.

It’s impossible to avoid the attempt Disney is making to fill a lacking hole in their library of films that would appease the African-American audiences. Tiana becomes the first African-American princess that Disney has ever revolved a story around and they did it successfully with a talented cast headed by Anika Noni Rose whose strong voice and cheerful spirit fit her character’s design of a strong-minded and head strong woman. Keith David plays Dr. Facilier, a conniving conjurer, and toned-down version of the popular folklore occult Shadow Man. His voice has prominence, a chilling ring, and David’s singing chops aren’t bad either.

There’s still a gap in how much this story can touch you as opposed to what comes out of Disney Pixar Studios but that’s the difference in working off a fairy tale and doing something completely original. The Princess and the Frog’s message of ‘not just wishing and a star and waiting, but also doing something about it’ is clear enough to not feel like it’s a one-note story, and so is its other lesson of ‘not working so much you forget to have fun.’ There are themes of class, work ethic, small business, and much more. Fun characters and music by Randy Newman solidify this release as a must-see for young, old, girls and boys; and there should not be any questions one whether or not everyone will enjoy this.

Video: A+
Disney’s triumphant return to drawn animation is supported by this terrific high definition 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Backgrounds have layers of painted detail, characters have loads of vibrant hues and color that are as visually stunning as some of the very best Disney films. Nice touches like opaque reflections in water, the amber glow of an oil lamp and smoke from a shotgun have no banding or signs of artificial enhancement. I want to call to attention three chapters which make for good visual tests of this blu-ray (as well as audio). Chapter 4 is Tiara’s first big musical number and the animation goes from the “Disney” style to 1940′s deco art full of bright oranges and yellows only seen on gerber daisies. Chapter 5 is Dr. Facilier’s introduction and his lair is full of the occult and voodoo magic. Rich purple hues and psychedelic imagery that are reminiscent of a Victor Moscoso painting. Every scene has something much deeper to look at and other good stuff like deep blacks and smooth gradient color will impress. And shadow delineation, accentuated by the shadow monsters have clear definition.

Audio: A+
Accompanying the strong visuals is the equally impressive 5.1 English DTS-HD master audio track. The music reflects each of the delicious flavors of the southern creole cooking pots. From the dixie jazz, to the gospel chorals, and the rhythm and blues will have you snapping your fingers, clapping your hands and shaking your thang down Bourbon Street. Your ear will be able to place where the instruments were from the drums to the sharp brass section. Dialogue is flawless as distinct accents don’t make the words any less difficult to hear but instead make them that much more memorable. Mama Odie and Louis for example, have subtle but very different accents that help distinguish not only who they are, but what region of New Orleans they’d be from. The shadow monsters have an eerie and haunting sound that swirls all around. Ray’s buzzing moves around the room as he moves on the screen and every musical performance is over-the-top with highly active sound movement, native surround effects heard in the swamps and a well-balanced mix of it all. Again, pay attention to Chapters 4, 5, and 11 offer up some of the very best this blu-ray has to offer. Other audio selections include: French, Spanish, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks and a English 2.0 DVS track; subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Extras: B
I’ve got to knock Disney a few on their extras department which left lots to desire. First of all what’s on the disc is very short. We’re talking about a family film which should have a wealth of material, that will not only consume time, but shed a lot of light on the film. For being one of the first hand-drawn films in a long time, most of the featurettes could have been grouped together for one sitting or allow the option of playing them individually instead of forcing to view it in two-to-five minute segments. Another thing I have to take down on is for a Disney musical film, where are the Sing-a-long extras? A big-big-big misstep there. When I compare these to say, a Disney Pixar film and the hours of material there, I wonder why so little was given to The Princess and the Frog.

Disc One
Audio Commentary by Co-Directors John Musker and Ron Clements and Producer Peter Del Vecho is a scene-specific, on point track that covers a variety of subjects from Randy Newman’s musical contribution, the setting of New Orleans, and creating a brand new story, with new characters with the Disney twist of a classic fairy tale. All three men contribute equally, do not talk over each other and give a fine diversion for budding animators or Disney loyalists.

Work in Progress Track HD Here’s a neat blu-ray exclusive track which allows you to view the film alongside in-progress storyboards, pencil layouts, and rough animations as a Picture-in-Picture feature. I think what would have made this even better though would have been the ability to view this during the commentary. In fact, they should have fused the two tracks as a CineExplore commentary, often seen on other family films.

Deleted Scenes HD (11:43) There are five deleted / alternate scenes in storyboard form with different voices that were cut before animation and voices were recorded. The reasons they didn’t make the cut were mainly due to time constraints.

Music and More HD (4:04) Here’s where I really took issue with the extras. In this section there is only one option, so I’m not sure where the “and More” comes into play, but this is just the music video for “Never Knew I Needed” by Ne-Yo, which is only used on the closing credits. Where are the extras on the songs, the musical elements of the film? This is where a sing-a-long extra needed to be placed, a usual staple of classic Disney releases.

Bringing Life to Animation HD (8:08) Two scenes, “Dig a Little Deeper” and “The Proposal” are broken down with live action sequences used as visual references for the animators, a technique that was used throughout the golden age of Disney. They show different angles and choreography, along with commentary by Musker and Clements.

Magic in the Bayou: The Making of a Princess HD (22:11) John Lasster joins the production party to discuss the creative energy behind The Princess and the Frog and the universal buzz among the cast and crew that a new hand-drawn animated feature was pumping through the veins of the Disney offices, as well as the all of the major themes and elements of the film.

The Return to Hand Drawn Animation HD (2:43) The excitement of the return to a 2D film lit a fire under the animators because it’s what brought so many people to work at Disney in the first place. The animators of the film talk about wanting to continue the art of Disney filmmaking.

The Disney Legacy HD (2:31) A look at the great animators of Disney and their impact on the current animators who were able to work with people who worked alongside Walt Disney.

Disney’s Newest Princess HD (2:51) The attention swings to actress Anika Noni Rose and the 1920′s inspired character, who is a strong and independent woman who little girls can aspire to.

The Princess and the Animator HD (2:26) The supervising animator for Princess Tiana, Mark Henn talks about creating another strong princess character for Disney having worked on Ariel, Belle, Mulan and Jasmine.

Conjuring the Villain HD (1:50) Animators and Keith David talk about the story’s villain, Dr. Facilier.

A Return to the Animated Musical HD (3:13) a short featurette about the musical score for The Princess and the Frog involving Randy Newman’s composition of jazz, gospel and the blues.

Art Galleries Peruse a number of the developmental, conceptual, and design art for the film including Character Design, Visual Development, Layouts and Backgrounds and Storyboards.

What do you See: Princess Portraits is a guessing game where images are created by fireflies and you have to guess which Disney princess it is. Hosted by Mama Odie, after ten tries

Disc Two: DVD
The DVD includes the full film, deleted scenes, audio commentary, the Princess Portraits game, and the music video by Ne-Yo. If you have a family and you have outfitted your fan or travel packs with the ability to watch DVDs on the go, you will love this added option. However, to those thinking that the DVD version will suffice, the digital sound and vision of the blu-ray is unmatched.

Disc Three: Digital Copy Disc
Take The Princess and the Frog with you on the go to watch it on your laptop, desktop computer, or portable media player.

Overall Shock Value: A–
As a fan of all types of animation, Disney’s hit it our of the park with another musical twist on a classic fairy tale and presenting an enjoyable film that should connect with plenty of families on family night. There some real delightful performances especially by Keith David and Anika Noni Rose both in their acting and singing. The visuals are splendidly classic but also has that jolt of high definition pop. The Princess and the Frog offers a diverse option for families who want to expand from the classic Disney canon with a great message and a infectious blend of music ranging from jazz, gospel and blues. A definite Buy it! especially with every format imaginable is available in one package.

Year: 2009
Running Time: 430 Minutes
Rated: TV-14
SRP: $ 29.99
Studio(s): ABC Studios
Release Date: February 23, 2010

Film/Feature: B+
Knowing the their prized show, Lost was ending after this season ABC realized they’ll need something to take its place. They scored a science fiction show that was originally supposed to air on HBO which was based in the real world, but plays with the storytelling devices through a variety of glimpses of the future. A world-wide phenomenon occurred where every human experienced a blackout for 137 seconds, and experienced in that same time period, a taste of May 27, 2010, six months in the future. If people saw someone else in their flash-forward, then that person experienced the exact same vision.

The main story revolves around a group of FBI Special Agents investigating the cause of the blackout. The lead story is of Mark Renford played by Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) and his wife, Dr. Olivia Benford played by Lost alum, Sonya Walger. In their flash forwards he sees armed men hunting him down at his office, Mark is back drinking and the men looking for him bear the same tattoo on their forearm. His wife’s flash forward sees her cascading down her stairs in lingerie into the arms of another man. Mark’s partner, Special Agent Dimitri Noh (John Cho) sees no flash and suspects he will not live to see the day on everyone’s mind. Another agent, Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) is a lesbian and single, yet whose vision is that she is nearly six months pregnant.

The team begins to gather clues like a similar occurrence happened in Somalia in 1991, a dark shadowy figure seen in Detroit during the blackout who did not lose consciousness, and a mysterious person known only by D. Gibbons. In Mark’s flash forward he remembers his peg board being filled with other clues gathered from the upcoming investigation. Along the way about episode 4-7 FlashForward gets a bit bumpy and loses some of its interest and speed. The government looks into the money being spent on this sector of the FBI and is threatened to be closed. A common theme in Lost is destiny versus freedom of choice. It surfaces here too. Will a glimpse of the future be enough for people to accept that as their fate? Or were people meant to see that to change the future?

There are good characters, with some plausible and not-so-plausible angles. Dimitri Noh trying to find out why he has no vision of the future and desperately trying to change that is a splendid leading role for Korean-born, American Cho and is one of the strongest stories in the series. It’s probably one of the more fuller characters he’s portrayed. I also like Sonya Walger’s Olivia trying everything to change her future but fails to deter her apparent path of destiny. When the show’s antagonists slowly reveal themselves it proves that this ball of yarn will be quite a tangled mess. The show is not without its faults. Fiennes is out of his element doing action, the show takes some giant leaps in explaining the science.

It’s difficult enough for a show like Lost viewers to buy into the sci-fi strangeness of some remote island, but a global occurrence such as this, well, that’s an ambitious story to tell. FlashForward puts a good foot “forward” (sorry I had to say that) and by the end of part one of season one, it recovers from the lackluster middle portion of this box set. Not only does this series flash forward, but it also begins to show what each character was doing prior to the blackout. Managing all of these storylines coherently is not an easy task by any means and yet after ten episodes I’m still in it to its end. Here’s hoping that FlashForward will be given every chance to fill in those blanks.

Video: A-
The transfer is a 480p encoded transfer in 1.78:1 aspect ratio enhanced for 16×9 televisions. The series is shot in high definition and the result is a visually strong and stylistic series that’s bright and full of high contrast and real world textures and skin tones. At times scenes are lit with blue hues and slight over-saturation, but it’s a nice looking image that lacks the fine detail of high definition but the much of the source information makes it over relatively unharmed in the DVD. You almost think it’s high def at first which tells just you how good it looks for a DVD.

Audio: B+
FlashForward gets a 5.1 English Dolby Digital audio track. Since this is not a high definition audio track, there isn’t the destructive sound that comes out of a DTS-HD track but all of the action sequences are full of subwoofer activity and lively movement from front to rear channels. Most importantly, center channels will pump out the dialogue clearly and in synch to the moving picture. There are no other audio choices and subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras: C-
There’s a small smattering of extras here but it’s mostly to promote the second half of the season. There will hopefully be a more full plate of supplements when the full season comes out on DVD and Blu-ray.

Creating Catastrophe: The Effects of a Global Blackout SD (7:06) mainly shows the behind the scenes of creating the opening devastation scene where part of the Los Angeles freeway was closed.

FlashForward: A Look Ahead SD (4:48) is an extended preview of what I imagine to be a clip of episode 11.

Could SD (1:32) is a TV spot for the second half of season one.

Overall Shock Value: B–
After the first ten episodes I was sold on the show. It was an easy sell for me that moved a little faster than Lost as far giving viewers the feeling they are moving towards something real. But this is a much bigger story than what Lost is trying to tell. The phenomenon is on a global level and I’m interested to see how the writers get out of this jam. There are some questions about the future of this show given two of the creative forces, creator David Goyer, and showrunner Marc Guggenheim are no longer involved with the show. Whether it makes the cut in the summer or not, FlashForward served as a good filler while we waited to see the last season of Lost, which I think would be a wise lead-in if the show wants to get strong enough ratings for a return. This DVD is just the first half of the season and is meant for those who want to catch up on the show as the second half kicks in March 18, 2010 with a two-hour season finale set for May 27, 2010. And if that’s exactly what you want, this DVD looks and sounds great, and is worth at least a Rent It based on the skimpy supply of extras and inevitable full season box set.

Buying a last minute gift for a movie or TV fan, or maybe you’re trying to come up with a list for someone trying to get you a next-to-impossible-to-find gift? Or perhaps you’ve got some holiday gift cards to use, maybe a Christmas bonus? Wanna cash in on some After-Christmas sales? Keep this 2009 PCS Gift Guide: Movies and TV list handy for all your last minute pre-holiday needs and post-holiday wish fulfillment!

#10 Watchmen The Ultimate Cut and Director’s Cut Blu-Rays
SRP: $60 (Ultimate Cut) $36 (Director’s Cut) Find it online from $40-$50 (Ultimate Cut) and $17-$20 (Director’s Cut)

As a website that’s deeply rooted in comic book coverage, I couldn’t help but place Watchmen and both of its blu-ray editions. What? Both? Yes, and this is why. The entire 186-minute Ultimate Cut is everything you could possibly ask for. See the spliced animated feature length Black Freighter film mixed in with the director’s cut for a marathon movie experience. Packaged with the Ultimate Cut is the Watchmen Motion Comic, in case you want to see and hear the original comic. There enough featurettes and discussions as to where Watchmen belongs in our current culture. It’s everything you could dream up of short of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons epic reading the damn thing to you. Yeah, just try to make that happen. All of the extras from the Director’s Cut has been ported over to the Ultimate Cut EXCEPT for ONE THING: Maximum Movie Mode.

Maximum Movie Mode is on the Director’s Cut blu-ray, and is, (excuse this pun) the Watchmen of all picture-in-picture commentaries, featuring Zack Snyder beside two large screens; one for watching the film and the to pull up behind the scenes extras to which he pushes through all of it to bring up specific points in creating the film. He’ll explain something while it’s going on and then pause the movie to discuss something else. Snyder talks about Watchmen ad nauseam–until you don’t want to hear the name Rorschach ever again. While Snyder is doing his thing, trivia, side-by-side comparisons to the comics, and others run simultaneously. Now, in comparison, the Ultimate Cut’s has two newer commentaries, a new one by Snyder and one by artist Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen, over the entire, Ultimate Cut experience. So my final recommendation is to get the Ultimate cut, and find a used or discounted copy of the Director’s cut just to see Maximum Movie Mode.

#9 Marvel Animation Lion’s Gate 6 Film Set
SRP: $49.98 Find it on Amazon or other online outlets for approx. $35-$40

None of these are perfect animated Marvel films for the comic book fan who analyzes each comic-related item with a magnifying glass, but they’re entertaining enough for the average fanboy and especially for any geek-in-the-making. Start them off with next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow and then they can graduate to more of the classic Marvel stories with a modern take Doctor Strange and The Invincible Iron Man movie, which features the Mandarin. Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2 are two cracks at trying to capture that magic Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch imagined with their Ultimates comic, which was a modern take on the Avengers and is a partial road map for what the Marvel films are building towards. But everything culminates to the animation and action in the Hulk Vs. DVD which features two animated films, recreating the classic Hulk Vs. Wolverine battle, and another fight between hulk and Thor.

The extras are on the underwhelming side, but all of the movies are technically sound. The voice acting on these six films are as good as anything I’ve seen from an animated Marvel feature and know that the stories progressively get better and better if they are viewed in the order of release starting with Ulimate Avengers (2005) and ending with Hulk Vs (2008). Again, these are great introductions for that young Marvel Zombie who wants something with a little more teeth than Super Hero Squad, and is looking for a good connection from the animated product to the comic material they’re based on.

#8 Disney Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy Disc Combos
Bolt, Pinocchio, A Bug’s Life, G-Force, Monsters Inc., Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Up
SRP: $36-45 each. Find it on Amazon or other online outlets for approx. $15-$25

Whether you loved them as a kid or plan to watch them with your own kids, these films strive to appeal the masses without really aiming to do so and often to achieve it. There is unfortunately no box set containing all of these Disney releases, but the reason that I list them down as the perfect gifts is that they include every way possible to watch these films. Whether you’re into downloading, have to go on a long road trip, or are going up on a plane, sometimes a little bit of entertainment goes a long way. Each combo package has enough extras to last for however long you need it to. Many of them have Academy Award-winning short films, interactive games, sing-alongs, music videos, archival footage, and Disney’s great multi-media experience Cine-Explore Experience Commentaries. They all have some of the very best transfers and sounding audio of the year, and whether you’re outfitted for blu-ray now or plan to in the future, you have what you need to prevent you from buying that film in another format ever again, at no extra cost. If you hunt around you can even find coupons specifically for these films, which will help you save even more money. Disney has shown a full support of the format and was one of the first studios to offer all the formats on one package, at one low price.

#7 Battle Star Galactica: The Complete Series (2004-2009) on Blu-Ray
SRP: $350 Find it on Amazon or other online retailers for approx. $200-$225

How do you sum up five years of probably one of the best, if not THE best television series that’s been made in the last ten years? Simple. Buy this box set. Blindly. That’s my best possible recommendation for this box set. There are 20 blu-rays that make up this box set that treat this series with the class it deserves: high definition transfers, movie theater-like sound, and extras out the wazoo. There are 22 commentaries, and 57 podcast commentaries, six extended episodes, video blogs, Univeral’s blu-ray exclusive U-Control, behind-the-scenes until you’re Cylon in the face. The giant box opens “up” to reveal smaller boxes and encased at the top is a cool Cylon Centurion action figure to dance about on your cubicle or home office. Where you’re going to put this thing, I don’t know but if you’re hardcore enough to spend two large bills on this box set, then I’m sure you already know where you’re going to display it. If you’re persistent, this box set could give you a year’s worth of daily entertainment if you can stay sitting for that long. Throw a treadmill walk in there or some Yoga ball workout, because by the time you get through everything your brain may go Galactica.

#6 The Bourne Trilogy Blu-Ray
SRP: $120 Fint it on Amazon or other online retailers for approx. $75-$85

Not to be forgotten in the great gift sets of 2009 is Universal’s blu-ray treatment of the Bourne Trilogy released at the beginning of the year. For those who have either gotten a new blu-ray player or home theater this is an incredible box set to begin any collection. The three superbly satisfying films showcase room-rattling acoustics, high-grade video transfers where the fast-paced action will test the abilities of your display, and hours of extras to keep you immersed in the world of Jason Bourne. Now in a few weeks, you may want to wait for Universal’s flipper technology to hit the streets so that you can have the DVDs as well, then by all means do so, but this box set may see a dip in price by retailers who want to stock the flipper discs. I actually prefer this set with the magnetic “Bourne” clasp and sleek faux “steel” stylings of the slipcase, though I’m sure I’ll gripe when the fourth Bourne film comes out in 2011 and it will sit by itself next to the box set.

# 5 Hogan’s Heroes: The Komplete Series DVD Kommandant Kollection
SRP: $180 Find it on Amazon or other online retailers for approx. $125-$150

Before Lt. Aldo Raine and the Inglourious Basterds were making buffoons out of Nazis, Col. Robert E. Hogan and his Heroes were doing it on a weekly basis on network television. Six seasons of Hogan’s Heroes are spread through 27, well-produced DVDs, mostly in color with some episodes of Season 1 in black and white. In a time when reality television rules the world, it’s good to remember what classic television was capable of doing in providing laughs-at zee German’s expense. There was a lot of cool stuff for fans of spy work and military, and most importantly well-written stories. It was a pretty bold move for television at that time to try and make satire out of World War II and the “camp” life. It featured a cool cast of actors in the sixties that included Richard Dawson who’s still sharp as ever, the late and great Ivan Dixon, and former actual concentration camp survivor, Robert Clary to name a few. Thankfully I had older siblings to make sure I knew about Heroes as a kid and now I’m reminding you of how truly great this series was.

As far as extras go, a majority of them are spread in Season 2 and Season 6. Unfortunately there are only two commentary tracks in the entire box set, but there’s tons of promo material, gag reels, a Patricia and Bob Crane Wedding Film, three new Richard Dawson interviews (The Early Days, The Cast, and Fond Memories), The Extended Pilot with Gilligan’s Island Introduction and perhaps my favorite extra out of the entire set was seeing episode 1.27 “The Safecracker Suite” as an alternate version that the German TV board got a hold of and recorded a new German audio track so that they didn’t look like fools on the show. Don’t worry it’s got English subtitles. Each season has its own folder of discs and everything is housed in a well-designed slipcase with acetate sleeve. Hogaaaaaaan!

# 4 Lost Season 5 Dharma Initiative Edition Blu-Ray
SRP: $120 Bargain Shoppers: Find it on Amazon or Target for appox. $75-80

There is a handful of television shows that really exemplify the beauty of high definition, and Lost belongs in that elite club. If you haven’t been catching the show on blu-ray, then do so because it’s the best these shows have ever looked and they’ve never sounded any better. Like in seasons prior, Season 5 has a ton of supplemental material and easter eggs, but after the lightweights make it through the episode discs and extras and go to bed, the “Lost-ies” can enroll in the blu-ray exclusive, Lost University which is like a full blown school of Lost-related classes and workshops, complete with lectures, homeworks assignments, exams, and higher learning like survival tactics, learning foreign languages, and the philosophical and scientific explanations of what is going on in the show. In other words, there are days worth of extras (because it actually makes you wait for days in between classes) on BD-Live/Online to keep you immersed in what the Dharma Initiative has in store for you.

And if you want to take it a step further, track down the Dharma Intiative version of Season 5 on blu-ray. The discs themselves are the same, but housed in “floppy” discs holders, and included are four Dharma Initiative patches for you to sew onto your jump suit (not included); a fifth chase patch is randomly packaged. In addition to trifold brochures is a retro orientation folder with a VHS instructional videocassette. Housing all of this is a distressed and aged, cardboard box with a “moldy facade.” It’s hard to deny the fervor that Lost fans have shown in recent years and these blu-rays are the best possible way to own and watch the series.

# 3 The Mel Brooks Blu-Ray Collection
SRP: $140 Find it on Amazon or other online outlets for approx. $95

It’s hard to find a funnier box set than the Mel Brooks collection. Yes it’s politically incorrect, yes, they’re off-the-wall, but Brooks is one of our finest comedic iconoclasts. In addition to the movies is a 120-pg hardcover booklet that’s as wide as the box and full of anecdotes for each film with production notes, Brooks’ diary logs and funny stories. This makes the PCS Gift list because Brooks’ films have stood the test of time and people still talk about them today, and they continue to be as funny today as they were when they were first made.

The set Includes high definition blu-rays of The Twelve Chairs (1970) Blazing Saddles (1974) Young Frankenstein (1974) Silent Movie (1976), High Anxiety (1977), History of the World Part I (1981) To Be or Not to Be (1983) Spaceballs (1987) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). The transfers on all of the films are of high quality, especially Young Frankenstein with Twelve Chairs looking the worst of them all specifically because of the grainy appearance but it is also the oldest of the set. Extras vary from disc to disc but Brooks is often found providing solo commentary tracks and on several discs are isolated score tracks. Definitely one of the best gift sets, just released this week.

# 2 Futurama DVD Series Set in Bender Head
SRP: $200 Find it on Amazon or Costco for appox. $145-160

If you found it tough to keep track of Futurama as it moved from different time slots to another network and then the four straight-to-DVD animated features, then DVR no more. Originally conceived as a limited edition 2009 Comic-Con Exclusive, (but is now available at your local Costco) are all 72 episodes and the four widescreen animated features: Bender’s Big Score, The Beast with a Billion Backs, Bender’s Game, and Into the Wild Green Yonder spread throughout 19 discs, and housed in a giant plastic Bender Head. The box that holds the set has printing on all six sides of the cube so it looks like a well-preserved Futurama head floating in liquid. The first thing I thought when I opened this thing is, “This thing is bitchin!” Afterwards, it was, “Where am I going to put this?” Keep the box and put it safely on a bookshelf in your office so you can sneak an episode here and there proudly display your love of Slurm!

Now, while Fox is planning to recast the voices for new season in 2010 (blasphemous!), you can re-watch, or finish wherever you left off with the classic Futurama cast. It’s probably the most underrated animated comedy in the last ten years, and dare I say smarter and better constructed as a whole, than the Simpsons. There is an audio commentary for EVERY SINGLE episode, storyboards, animatics, cool how-to-draw galleries and featurettes to keep you busy until our world actually resembles the cynical and bizarre world of Futurama.

#1 AK 100: Criterion Collection 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa
SRP: $400 Find it on Amazon or other online outlets. $285-$325

And the grand daddy of them all, the gift that would make movie-lovers swoon. AK 100 celebrates 100 years of Kurosawa’s life. This linen-bound collector’s set comes with an illustrated book with an introduction and notes on each film by Stephen Prince (The Warrior’s Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa) and a remembrance by Donald Richie (The Films of Akira Kurosawa). For those that don’t know, these two men have contributed to several audio commentaries and supplemental material that have come with all of Criterion’s wonderful DVD presentations. For those who know film or are filmmakers, there is possibly no more influential a filmmaker as Kurosawa and if you haven’t made the effort to start a library of his work, then there’s no better place to start than here.

Includes: Sanshiro Sugata (1943), The Most Beautiful (1944), Sanshiro Sugata Part Two (1945), The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945), No Regrets for Our Youth (1946), One Wonderful Sunday (1947), Drunken Angel (1948), Stray Dog (1949) Scandal (1950), Rashomon (1950) The Idiot (1951) Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), I Live in Fear (1955), Throne of Blood (1957), The Lower Depths (1957), The Hidden Fortress (1958), The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Yojimbo (1961) Sanjuro (1962), High and Low (1963), Red Beard (1965), Dodes’Ka-Den (1970), Kagemusha (1980), and Madadayo (1993).

Film/Feature: A–
Working in scientific research, is not as glamourous as other high profile careers. I come to that conclusion based on how many movies and television shows have been based on science and research… yeah, it’s tough to come up with one–until now.

Better Off Ted is about the inner-workings of global think tank, Veridian Dynamics, a research and development company in the dozens of fields including innovative industrial products, biomedicine, cryogenics as well as, defense technology. They come up with innovations such as biocomputers, exploding pumpkins, cow-less beef, and hair-growth remedies. This particular division of Veridian is headed by Veronica Palmer (Portia De Rossi) and in charge of research is Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington). Ted talks directly to the camera and is our main entry point to the company. He’s a confident, organized, corporate stiff who’s wife ran out on him and their daughter, Rose (Isabella Acres) who keeps her father in check.

Reporting directly to Ted are Head Scientists Phil Myman (Jonathan Slavin) Lem Hewitt (Malcolm Barrett), who are kept in the basement away from corporate but are always involved in the episode as they have to update the uppers of their progress, present in front of the board, and some of their experiments make their way up the building. Linda Zwordling (Andrea Anders) also reports to Ted. She works in the Testing, is the company idealist, flirts with Ted, and looks to violate company policies in protest of the anti-autonomous corporate culture.

De Rossi plays what she does best, and that’s playing a cold, heartless bitch. Borrowing familiar notes from her character in Arrested Development, De Rossi embodies corporate management perfectly lacking any sensitivity, looking for ways to cost-cut, and living the coda of ‘company first, employees last.’ She carries out mandates by her superiors and throws enough bones and scrap meat to the employees to keep them satisfied that they have a job.

It’s not comedy because it’s made up, folks.

Also separating Better Off Ted from the TV trash is accurate nonsensical workplace foibles, like the conversations between technical and marketing where there’s something lost in translation, unreasonable deadlines, cubicle communities, and dozens of other Dilbert-esque situations that all too many people can relate to. There’s also one Veridian commercial each episode that eerily mimics the style of science marketing, in painfully dry, and hilarious summations of that particular show. They have a special way of giving you hope and terrifying you at the same time. Sometimes the show even goes where it probably shouldn’t, and gives it a great satirical edge, like when the a cost-cutting move to install inferior motion light sensors keep all of the African American employees in the dark, or when Ted wrestles with the morality of helping his daughter outsell her classmate who is disabled.

I pray this show doesn’t fall prey to the same endings as Sports Night or Arrested Development as shows being so smartly written that it scares off a lot of people, and they’re run is cut too soon. Despite the setting, this show should strike a familiar chord with anyone who has worked in a corporate environment. It’s not important to have worked in corporate science to laugh at Better Off Ted because the comedic situations are universal. Corporate mentality and culture is so deeply engraved in our minds and what better to laugh at than life itself, right? But if you do work in science or technology be proud that your profession is so cleverly portrayed on television. You’ll get even more out of this show than the average person. And if you just know someone who works in science, tell them to take their head out of the books and watch this show.

Video: B
Better Off Ted has a standard definition, 480p transfer in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. I watch the show regularly in high definition when it’s originally broadcasted so in comparing that to the DVD, it has a much less sharp and detailed pop off the screen. Still, it doesn’t detract from what is overall a solid looking transfer. Good color and reproduction of skin tones are there; there are not many night scenes to really determine how good the black levels are, but contrast, shadow delineation, and saturation are at satisfactory levels with thankfully no post-production “enhancements” visible. Early on, especially in the Pilot episode, compression artifacts are visible in the Veridian commercials. As the series continues, though, they seem to correct that problem. Otherwise a fine looking show.

Audio: B+
A 5.1 English Dolby Digital audio track is a bit overkill for this series which is mostly weighted in the center channel. Dialogue from the center channel is the bread and butter of the series but a haunting brew of corporate choral music will surround you from all directions. Other audio selections include: a 2.0 Spanish Dolby Stereo track and ugly white and pixelated subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Extras: F
There are no extras. This is a big disappointment but hopefully with more viewers, more money can be budgeted for some fun extras.

Overall Shock Value:A–
With all of the suffocating reality shows, it’s good to know that well-written shows still exist. Better Off Ted is one of those shows with enough quirks, wit and charm that you just can’t help but want more of it. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone in this thought because it was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series and was renewed for a second season and follows Scrubs at ABC on Tuesdays 9:30/8:30 Central. Despite the lack of extras, I’m still highly recommending this DVD as a stocking stuffer, or just a simple treat for yourself; because in the abyss of bad television, network shows as good as this deserve the attention. I have no doubt that people who work in any tech field will enjoy this, as will fans of Dilbert and Arrested Development. Buy it! and Long live corporate nerds!

Film/Feature: A+
Cult Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is quoted in the film,

“Nobody shoots a car, the way Aussies do. They manage to shoot cars with this fetishistic lens that makes you want to jerk off!”

Attention: Genre Film Fans, never has there been a bigger collection of jaw-dropping stunts, outrageous gore, and gratuitous tit shots in one sitting than in Not Quite Hollywood. You may be found sitting with your mouth gaping open, because there are that many “Holy Shit!” moments. Like the films celebrated, this documentary isn’t a boring sedative, it’s an exciting romp through cinema’s wildest step child, Australian genre films. It’s fast-paced, filled with unbelievable clips like Nicole Kidman as a BMX biker (wait, what?), and eye-gaping interviews with legendary actor/stuntman Grant Page, or seeing Aussie director John D. Lamond talking casually on a couch, while at a strip club. 80 different interview subjects of Australian, American and British directors, actors, screenwriters, producers and critics including Quentin Tarantino, Stacy Keach, John Seale, George Lazenby, George Miller, Barry Humphries, Roger Ward, Dennis Hopper, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brian Trenchard-Smith and dozens more, tell-all in this history lesson of Australian genre B-movies.

It all started in the late 60′s to early 70′s, the ultimate revolution occurred in Australian culture. Feminism, sexual liberation, moratoriums on wars, you name it, the Aussies were into it, and no one wanted to be controlled or be governed. On a filmmaking front, the only films that were being made down under were nature films to promote tourism as if Australians were obsessed with koala bears and kangaroos. But in 1971 Australia’s censorship regime flipped house and with the introduction of the R-rating set off an explosion of a new age of genre films.

Ozploitation can be broken into three categories, and Not Quite Hollywood is broken into these three segments which progress chronologically. The first of these is the sexual comedy which was more or less born from the country’s sexual revolution, and the celebration of one’s skin. In The Naked Bunyip (1970), a Dr. Kinsey-type character goes around piqued and tries to chart different sexual fantasies which was a cheap way to get naked people on camera. Filmmakers such as Tim Burstall (1927-2004) who directed Stork (1971), Alvin Purple (1973), and Eliza Frazer (1976) thrived on the bawdiness and erotic comedies and still, other Australian filmmakers struggled with trying to create films to make portray Australians in a way that they wanted outsider’s perception to be. Call it an identity crisis, call it perversion at its finest, call it what you will, Australia had a booming epicenter of interesting filmmakers whether their own country’s elite liked them or not, the public spoke with their wallets.

In phase two of the film, “Comatose Killers and Outback Chillers,” the focus shifts to the horror genre where films like Inn of the Damned, and Night of Fear jump started the industry with a gory arrival. Others came like Patrick (1976), a psychological thriller where a man in a coma controlled people with telekinetic powers. Long Weekend (1978), featured a repulsive couple who were always at each other’s throat, but are attacked by Mother Nature when they go on a camping trip, because they posed as this cancer-like force of destruction. Writer Everett De Roche, then came up with Road Games (1981), which he describes as a Rear Window set in a truck; starring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis and began a resentment by the Australian board because of American actors who were brought in to drive up ticket sales.

In the film’s final act, the action film, one staple that seemed to make its way in was the desert marauder, or bullies in the outback looking for trouble and someone to pick on, or worse things unimaginable. The one that trail blazed this new path was the biker-culture film, Stone (1974), which was hard to determine what was real and what was made up because of that particular filmmakers quest for authenticity. Other gems from this era were Mad Dog Morgan (1976), which featured a near-insane Dennis Hopper and The Man from Hong Kong (1975), which should have been called, the Man with the Bloated Ego because it starred the well-known difficult personality, Jimmy Wang Yu. But there was not a bigger success story than Mad Max (1979) launching the career of Mel Gibson and began a sub-genre of post-apocalyptic films like Turkey Shoot (1981) and Midnight Spares (1982).

Not Quite Hollywood takes a good glance into frontier filmmaking at its wildest, where feminism was being pioneered and taken down on the screen at the same time, the drive-in culture was on the rise, and innovative and creative films were being done on shoestring budgets. Safety precautions in stunts were almost never taken, and filmmakers would go to the horse track to try and win money to finance their films; it was as if this tight knit industry collectively gave a middle finger to their critics. Hysterically, the doc frequently cuts to Aussie film critics Bob Ellis and Phillip Adams who are never afraid to spew a barrage of disgusted words towards these films again. Kudos goes to Mark Hartley for putting forth the effort to bring a wider attention and hopefully a broader appreciation for the Australian genre films. He’s opened up a whole new vault of genre films to Ozploitation novices like myself to track down and enjoy.

Video: B
Not Quite Hollywood is preserved on DVD with a standard definition480p encoded transfer in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Now these are grind house films so the picture quality bounces back and forth from modern-produced interview pieces to moderately preserved clips, to really bad looking negatives of these rare films. I’m going to default to the filmmakers that what they were able to find for the film was the very best they could find. Grain is ever present and some clips have sever damage and artifacting, while others barely have a visible image, but for the most part, clips are very clear, color is strong but muddied down, and there is a toothy grit in many of the clips but all of the interviews are pleasant to watch even if they don’t look as refined, and for this film, that fits the mold.

Audio: B+
The Audio on the other hand is consistently good and comes to you via 5.1 English Dolby Digital audio track. Dialogue is clear, coming from the center, with an active soundstage that utilizes the rear channels of your home theater frequently with sound effects like splintering glass from the various movie clips, head banging music, and joyful explosions that make their way to your subwoofer. Other audio selections include: English 2.0 and subtitles are available in Spanish, sadly because I think those with untrained ears may have trouble hearing through some of the accents.

A Scene from Turkey Shoot

Extras:A

There are no subtitles for any of the extras which is a letdown for anyone who wants to try and track this stuff down.

Audio Commentary by Director Mark Hartley and the Ozploitation Auters is a free-for-all commentary track that includes Brian Trenchard-Smith, Antony I. Ginnane, John D. Lamond, David Hannay, Richard Brennan, Alan Finney, Vincent Monton, Grant Page and Roger Ward. This is a great supplement to hear a very honest recount of what making films in Australia was like in the 1970′s and 1980s, and even today. What’s difficult is that some of the participants are doing adding their parts via phone so with that many contributors, who’s talking to who gets a little lost. Still the stories these filmmakers want to share are both entertaining and fascinating like what the filmmakers of Mad Max’s first impressions of Mel Gibson were.

Deleted and Extended Scenes SD (Approx. 60 minutes) There’s almost an extra hour of cutting room material. 21 total scenes are available to peruse one-by-one or see all at once. Most of them are deleted scenes with four being extended scenes.

Quentin Tarantino Interviews Brian Trenchard-Smith SD (13:00) QT and Trenchard-Smith (who made The Man From Hong Kong (1975), Stunt Rock (1978), Turkey Shoot (1982) Hospitals Don’t Burn Down (1978) talk films not for exploitation neophytes. Tarantino does reveal that he plans to release Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair after “once everything dies down and Miramax disentangles themselves from Disney and have their new company, we’ll release the whole thing together.” These two guys talk about tweaking their films for the MPAA and dealing with shady production companies.

Audio Interview with Director Richard Franklin SD (22:47) an audio clip of an interview with the late Franklin in front of a live audience, who was the director of such Australian gems as Patrick (1978), Fantasm (1876), Psycho II (1983) and Eroticon (1971). Franklin fields questions and shares his experiences in trying to make films in that renaissance period of Ozploitation era.

Image Gallery SD (5:03) is a groovy photo montage set to some funky music.

Funding Pitches from Quentin Tarantino and John D. Lamond SD (1:24) Tarantino and Lamond make a pleas and endorsements to those who may be interested in distributing the film. Thank the stars for Magnolia Pictures.

Original Theatrical Trailer SD (2:13) The excellent trailer that was enough to sell me on seeing the film is here.

Magnolia Trailers for Ong Bak 2, The Canyon, World’s Greatest Dad and HD Net (7:07)

Overall Shock Value: A+
If we’re talking about shock value, Not Quite Hollywood is right up there with the best films I’ve seen all year long. I’ve probably seen it nearly five times and I see something new with every viewing. The Aussies were so outrageous in their filmmaking that you’d think I was making this up, if you haven’t seen it yourself. Not Quite Hollywood is an educational acid trip down wild and risk-taking genre films that I think only the most devoted fans of genre films will be open to. If you’re looking for a film that will act like a fist and punch out your teeth, drop a grenade in your mouth and pull the pin, Not Quite Hollywood is there, winding up for the knockout blow, all you have to do is pick it up to seal the deal. Buy this, please.

Pop Culture Shock usually gets the blu-ray of such big studio releases but due to limited material PCS was given the DVD to screen. I will try to list the differences where possible.

Film/Feature: C
If you were hoping for a live action version of the cartoon, then G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra hits that mark. If you expected the film to transcend what the cartoon was, well then, you’re out of luck. But in comparison to Hasbro’s other brand-gone-wild, Transformers, I think G.I. Joe is more faithful adaptaion of the beloved 1980′s cartoon, which was really about two opposing covert teams in some special arms race, showcasing tricked out weapon-vehicles, specialized soldiers, in every terrain known to man. As a kid you never cared about what these things would look like in real life, you just wanted the toys. So after 45 years, what did you really want out of a GI Joe movie directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, Van Helsing)? An extension of the cartoon? Or some crazy bastardization with cool effects? The Rise of Cobra is a bit of a mixture of those two, something in the middle of not-so-good and not-so-bad. And based on all of the Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes outfits I saw at Halloween, I think the goal has been accomplished.

It’s a basic year one type story where Duke (Channing Tatum) is recruited out of the US Military forces into a special international operations unit called G.I. Joe and with him is another soldier and friend, Ripcord (Marlon Wayans). Duke has orders to protect four warheads with nanotechnology created by James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston) of the MARS industries. Think Haliburton on steroids. When unleashed the weapon can eat and destroy metal. Duke’s unit comes under attack by some covert team of soldiers with extremely advanced weapons, led by someone from his past, a woman named Ana (Sienna Miller) who now goes under the codename, Baroness. G.I. Joe saves Duke and Ripcord and brings them back along with the warheads to the Pit where they meet the leader, General Hawk (Dennis Quaid) and are properly introduced to Scarlett (the voluptuous Rachel Nichols), Snake Eyes (the ever silent Ray Park), Heavy Duty (the imposing Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and Breaker (Said Taghmaoui).

Duke had some history with the Ana dating back four years prior when they were engaged to be married. Her brother, Rex (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was in Duke’s unit and was apparently killed in a poorly-timed air strike. The relationship between Duke and Ana incinerated after that, sending Ana to the side of this black ops team who will be later revealed as Cobra. Alongside are Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee), Arnold Vosloo (Zartan), and McCullen. The other story we get in Lost-like flashbacks is the story of rival ninjas Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, two of the most popular characters from the animated series, and are centerpieces of the satisfyingly good action scenes in Rise of the Cobra, whether when they are young (played by Brandon Soo Hoo and Leo Howard) or in their present grown-up selves.

The story is not as tight as an old fan would hope. With all of the military-related action films done in the last 15 years, the bar is pretty high these days what passes for a good script. But I’ll give them this, they did consult G.I. Joe comics writer Larry Hamma and the work he did in the 80′s and use the nanotechnology, as well as technology that is being planned for real use in the military. The tech eventually gets a bit too fantastic when Duke and Ripcord try out the Joes’ new weapon, the accelerator suits. Looking as if they were patterned off HALO outfits, these suits give the soldier inside enhanced agility, speed, and strength. Cool in theory, but in reality these suits get mixed results. Everything builds to an underwater battle that brings the Baroness back in Duke’s arms and revelation of what we will come to know as Cobra as well as a much bigger threat for the inevitable sequel.

Where the movie really loses me is in some of the bigger set designs that are almost done completely in computer animation and that’s not so bad, but it’s got that strange cold feeling like Sky Captain or Phantom Menace where it’s so close to being a fully animated film, instead of looking real, that it’s almost not worth pretending to be a live-action film. In that case, the film could have been just given over to the team who created the excellent G.I. Joe Resolute, which all of us at PCS are all fans of. Any scenes where it’s all vehicles waging all out destruction or are establishing a new setting, take you out of the moment of the film in the air, in the snow and especially underwater. In the commentary, director Stephen Sommers even says at one point where a G.I. Joe aircraft is landing into the Pit, that it’s not his favorite shot because they simply ran out of time. It does look like a student animation project.

I wanted to like this film more, and after I heard what I heard I wanted to dislike it more. But hearing and seeing are two different things, and I had to see it for myself. Truth be told, I think it’s like a computer-game hybrid stylish take of an extended G.I. Joe cartoon episode. Everything looked right, which was a plus. I was fine with almost all of the casting choices. The action sequences, weapons and vehicles all delivered, but the acting? Not so much. It’s reminiscent of the early 90′s acting in comic book movies. A little stiff, a bit wooden, and for too simple for my liking. Actors like Gordon-Levitt have been so impressive in other films but look like a shell here. It’s a lot like people describing the acting in the Star Wars prequels: Great actors who act like impersonators of themselves. Storm Shadow, Snake Eyes and the Baroness offer the most interesting arcs, everything else is forgettable.

Does it keep the spirit of the 80′s cartoon? Yes. Is it realistic? Hell no. Although lots of people die in this film where nobody died in the cartoons. But if you imagined a PG-13 live action version of the G.I. Joe franchise to be better than this, go watch The Hurt Locker or HBO’s Generation Kill instead because believe me, those guys are truly bad-ass. Rise of Cobra falls short of what G.I. Joe always was to me and that’s an action-packed bonanza that ironically portrayed the battles of war accurately. Take a look at the real action of Desert Storm and compare it to an episode of G.I. Joe. It’s pretty close. The battles here are taken to the proportion of a Star Wars prequel and that’s not a good thing. Sommers again in the commentary referred to Thunderball as a childhood influence. That also is not a good thing. However the sequel is set. Cobra is established, and hopefully the filmmakers up the ante and raise the quality of the script and acting, so that fans and non-fans can talk about a great G.I. Joe film. Until then it’s the 80′s animated series and Resolute for me.

Video/Audio: B+
Rise of Cobra on DVD has 480p encoded transfer in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. It’s a great looking film, even on DVD with good reproduction on colors and detail. Knowing how good this would look on blu-ray makes me hold back on giving a higher rating. The soundtrack on the DVD is a beefy 5.1 English Dolby Digital audio track. It’s an active sound stage with lots of explosions and spatial sound effects that moves all around you. Rear channels are active with atmosphere and environment noise as well as residual music. Other audio selections include: French, Spanish, and subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.

The blu-ray is presented in 1080p and English 5.1 DTS-HD which I’m confident are upgrades worth checking out.

Extras: C+
I honestly expected a bit more from the extras section considering a passionate fan base would probably want to sink into every single aspect of the film. Maybe the DVD was rushed or perhaps there wasn’t much budget for lots of supplements. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish and French.

Audio Commentary by director Stephen Sommers and producer Bob Ducsay is not the best commentary track I’ve listened to because these guys really believe they put forth the best G.I. Joe film they could make. They do reveal the studio’s resistance for the back story between the ninjas among other anecdotes but it’s a very loving and apologetic track for a rather mediocre film.

The Big Bang Theory: The Making of G.I. Joe SD (29:34) shows how the comics and cartoons of the 80′s were used as a foundation for the film and the arduous task of making a popular children’s cartoon into a big studio action film scene. Action sequences, the accelerator suits, and the final underwater scene are their special effects are broken down.

Next-Gen Action: The Amazing Visual FX and Design of G.I. Joe SD (21:08) is set by set breakdown and the computer generation of the these creative pieces through the efforts of Digital Domain. Helicopters being crushed by a concussion cannon, detailing the Pit, the Night Raven, and the underwater finale were some of the sequences explained. Again, the end sequence was created with Thunderball in mind, huh, go figure.

There’s a 3D Holographic Video Game that can be played with your webcam but after doing the recommended plug in, every time I tried to access the game on the GIJOEexperience.com site, it crashed my browser. So if you’re able to get it to work, you can play a ninja battle game.

The extras disc is also used as a Digital Copy Disc to download on home computer and portable electronics such as iPod and PSP.

To close out the extras, check out Previews for Avatar: The Last Airbender, Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek, Monsters vs. Aliens, and the excellent G.I. Joe Resolute cartoon.

Overall Shock Value: C+
Like it or not, G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra accomplished its goal of bringing back the popular brand, capitalizing on the grown-up fan base from the 80′s and being able to sell more toys and licensed products to their kids. Like Hasbro’s other franchise, Transformers, it made a global impact that financially is unmatched in the brand’s run. It certainly looks right and feels a lot like the original animated series come to life, but unfortunately, it’s not much more than that. If you’re a home theater fanatic like myself, I would opt to save the pennies and make the jump up to high definition if you can because the high def picture and audio would add to the experience greatly. Still the DVD is probably best suited for devoted G.I. Joe fans who have to get their grubby paws on everything saying, “Yo Joe!” and I think boys who are in their early teens will probably get a kick out of it too. Otherwise I’d recommend Rise of Cobra as a rental and pray for something deeper and more ambitious for the second installment.

Year: 2007
Running Time: 92 min.
Rated: R
SRP: $26.98
Studio(s): Magnolia Home Entertainment

Film/Feature: B-

Three godfathers of modern day Hong Kong cinema, Tsui Hark (Time and Tide, Once Upon a Time in China), Ringo Lam (City of Fire, Twin Dragons), and Johnny To (Election, Exiled) collaborate in what’s best described as a relay film. Each director tells the story he wants to tell in the style he wants to do and then hands it off to the next storyteller. Even though there are some points where you’ll want to scratch your head, those familiar with each director will be able to tell who did what parts, but the transitions are very subtle. If this is your first dip into any of their works, then it may not be the best endorsement of how great they each are, because even though it has its moments, Triangle will be best appreciated for its experimental devices rather than its actual execution.

The synopsis is as follows: Three drinking buddies, Sam (Simon Yam), Fei (Louis Koo), and Mok (Sun Hong Lei), are struggling to make ends meet, when one night a mysterious old man appears an offers them a unique financial opportunity. He claims that buried beneath a high-security government building, lies an ancient treasure of great wealth. In agreement, the three men set off to commit the heist, but what they find puts their honor and friendship to the ultimate test.

Fei is the shady one out of the group and has “connections” with Triads to make this work. Sam has a mired marriage and past that will get him in trouble. And Mok, well he’s just trying to make a score with the least amount of trouble involved. It’s a basic story that really gets derailed in Lam’s intermediate part of the film who shifts the focus onto Sam and his marriage. His wife, Ling (Kelly Lin) believes that Sam killed his first wife and will kill her too. Ling has her own skeletons since she’s having an affair with a cop who she convinces to keep an eye on her husband and why he’s so secretive. Ever hear of the expression, three’s a crowd?

Now that we’ve veered completely away from the original plot of the film, Johnny To comes in and brings the film back on its track in what is a brilliantly-directed final act. All of the seemingly non-related parties involved in the story converge in a tiny province city where the real action takes place and only one party comes out alive.

Each director got his opportunity to do something special, but only To actually delivered. While I’m glad that we didn’t get three over-the-top action sequences, there could have been a bit more collaboration between them to tell a more coherent story from the back to the front. Because of that I liked many parts of it, but not the whole. I was strangely under a spell in Lam’s more emotion-filled middle as convoluted as it was. Hark had to establish so much in his section, so I felt less of him came through, but To brought it home in a fun and memorable way that’s best left unspoiled. Is it enough to salvage the rest of the disjointed film? I think so, but I also know many may agree so strongly. If HK action films are one of your favorite genres, then Triangle is just another film you should try with an open mind. It’s slick, it’s fun, and it’s also wildly out there. But I would also add that Triangle isn’t nearly as good as any of the three directors’ solo endeavors.

Video/Audio: B-/B-
Triangle is shown on DVD through a 480p standard definition transfer in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The colors while clear are a bit dull side so there’s not too many scenes where the hues are going to pop off of your television. There’s a fair amount of grain, especially in To’s night finale, but is a steady viewing experience that’s indicative of many of the Magnolia home releases.

The audio is best heard in the 5.1 Dolby Digital Cantonese track which is a front-heavy experience. Some residual effect noise gets to the rear channels like the echoing of gunfire and crickets chirping, music of course but lots of it from the front. The subwoofer is used sparingly and is not a film where bass is going to really kick in. There are no giant explosions, or hip hop music, just a little bit of drums and percussion in the score. Other audio selections include: 2.0 Dolby Digital Original Cantonese, 5.1 English Dub Dolby Digital, 2.0 English Dub audio tracks and subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

Extras: C-
Behind the scenes SD (13:32) On the set of the film’s climactic night scene and a peek into To’s working behind the camera. The funny thing is watching the actors holding a cigarette in their hands between practice takes.

Making of Triangle SD (6:15) is an average EPK moment that a hardcore HK film fan could skip but it’s enough to provide green HK film fans a broader bit of knowledge at which to expand their next venture into the genre.

Trailers for Ong Bak 2, World’s Greatest Dad, and Not Quite Hollywood, a documentary about Aussie genre films and the phenomena of Ozploitation.

Overall Shock Value: B-
I’m an easy guy to please when it comes to HK action, and even though I wasn’t completely satisfied with Triangle, it entertained me much more than what’s usually showing out there. It’s a solid Saturday rental, and you can determine if you love HK films as much as I do, or are just a casual fan. There’s not a lot of extras that will push Triangle into a must-buy opportunity, but for Johnny To completists like myself, Triangle just qualifies as recommendable treat that’s good for some late night debate.

Year: 1985
Rated: G
Running Time: approx. 11 hours
SRP: $24.99
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: September 15, 2009

Feature: A-

If you never bothered your mind or eyes with the two Michael Bay Transformers films, then your are still pure of what the real Transformers once was, an epic chess match between two rival groups of robots set perfectly on the canvas of animation cels. The Shout! Factory is celebrating 25 years of the Transformers by releasing the DVDs in two ways. You can either plunk down the lettuce for the Matrix of Leadership box set that has a ton of extra Transformers memorabilia or you can get it el cheapo way by getting the individual season sets.

Season Two, Volume One collects the first 28 episodes of the follow up season. Everyone should be familiar with Optimus Prime and the Autobots doing battle with Megatron and the Decepticons. Good vs. Evil, More than Meets the Eye, Robots in Disguise and yadda-yadda you get it. Why I love this series so much and especially why I like this season even better than the first is how much has been built up and how the next wave of characters/toys were prominently featured in this season. No one here is saying they didn’t get enough of Soundwave, Hound, Bumblebee, and Starscream. But in this season the Dinobots, the Constructicons, Insecticons, all had recurring roles in this season. Autobots like Perceptor, Blaster, Cosmos, Beachcomber, Grapple, Hoist, Red Alert, Skids, Smokescreen, Warpath, and Powerglide weren’t just introduced, they had feature roles. Decepticons like the Triple Changer Astrotrain and Blitzwing, Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust were more regular than the first wave of Decepticon jets. And need we be reminded of Omega Surpeme?

One of the biggest knocks I hear about the Transformers is how simplistic the stories were and for some reason that gave the filmmakers who made the live action film a free pass to have absolutely no story. There was quite a bit of complexity in the Decepticon plans and made for some memorable episodes even upon revisiting them for this review. Some of my favorite episodes include “Autobot Spike,” which was a modern retelling of Frankenstein, Dinobot Island where a Jurassic Park-like island is found and exploited for fossil fuels. “The Insecticon Syndrome” and “Quest for Survival” which shows the mistrust between the Decepticons and the Insecticons. The two part “Megatron’s Master Plan” had an elaborate scam that framed the Autobots who are then exiled. The “Master Builders” show the Contructicons preying on the weak mind of Hoist and Grapple to help build a solar energy tower. There were stories down in Atlantis, on another planet, and in another time. And one of the crazier two parters had the Dinobots going to Cybertron to retrieve Cybertoronium for the Autobots and Decepticons who are on the fritz. Instead Grimlock and the Dinobots ditch them all because he’s through taking orders.

A handful of these episodes had more meat on the bone than either film ever did. They just did, and there’s no sugar coating it. There was less emphasis on Spike and his romance with the Autobots. This was all about good vs. evil and both of them against those in between. Characters played each other, Decepticons were deceived by their own, Autobots had to acclimate the suddenly new robots that appeared out of nowhere like Blaster and his loud racket. The same went for the other side. But you understood that it was a way to get more out of your new action figure you just bought. Today there remains a story that was thought out, and the animation–despite its glitches–was rich. This is the golden age of the Transformers and the reason why people ever paid attention to it. Make sure future generations get to see it by passing this box set down and stories of computer love to your future generations of bot lovers.

Episode Listing
Disc 1
Autobot Spike
The Immobilizer
Dinobot Island, Part 1
Dinobot Islant Part 2
Traitor
Enter the Nightbird
Changing Gears

Disc 2 ?
A Prime Problem
Atlantis, Arise!
Attack of the Autobots
Microbots
The Master Builders
The Insecticon Builders
Day of the Machines

Disc 3
Megatron’s Master Plan, Part 1
Megatron’s Master Plan, Part 2
Auto Beserk
City of Steel
Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1
Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2
Blaster Blues

Disc 4
A Decepticon Raider in King
Arthur’s Court
The God Gambit
The Core
Make Tracks
The Autobot Run
The Golden Lagoon
Quest for Survival

Audio/Video: B/B
These are standard DVD presented in full frame 4:3 aspect ratio. Audio is 2.0 stereo.

Extras: D-
Nothing to speak of here because there are no extras. It’s not a big deal, I’m sure that keeps the price low but for those looking for something more won’t be satisfied by that. Being a 25th Anniversary, one would expect something added to these discs, but I know that they try to put all of the extra stuff for the extreme fans who buy the super Matrix of Leadership box set which contains all of the G1 episodes in one cool collective box set. There is a nicely designed episode guide booklet that’s included so there’s almost nothing as far as extras are concerned.

FEATURE: B
I’ve got fond, though hazy, memories of Dr. Katz from when I was younger. The Squigglevision animation and weird style made an impression, not to mention how jarring it is to go from, say, your average Saturday morning cartoon to more grown-up fare like this. Dr. Katz, his son Ben, and his receptionist Laura were interesting and quirky characters, and instantly easy to relate to.

The majority of the Best of Dr. Katz is made up of the therapy sessions featuring various stand-up comedians. Each episode would feature a different comedian or actor who would then air out their issues on Dr. Katz’s couch. Often, these sessions were reworked stand-up routines, or found their way into later stand-up routines. Sometimes, they are a little too familiar. Dave Chappelle’s routine in particular is going to be a little old to stand-up aficianados.

Despite that, it’s still a fairly funny set. While there are moments of outright hilarity, but this set of Dr. Katz segments is more about the creeping comedy, rather than something that will make you fall down in laughter. You smile most of your way through the disc, but you don’t quite reach the point where you’re in tears.

There are eighteen segments on the disc, which vary in length and scope. While this is a Best Of… collection, I’m not so sure that these are the best of the best. Some of the sets are hit or miss, while others are just miss.

It’s a good disc, but it feels a little light. I understand what the point of the set is, but there’s little to no continuity between episodes, which gives the entire affair a weird feel. It’s very disjointed and there’s no real rhythm in watching.

With most TV shows, you get into something of a rhythm while watching. Title card, twenty-two minutes, credits, next episode teaser, and then you repeat the process. With The Best of Dr. Katz, you end up hopping around a little too much. It feels like a feature length movie, since all of the credit sequences are saved for the very end of the disc. I was left feeling like I had to watch the entire thing in one sitting, rather than pulling up my favorite bits and watching them one at a time.

Just for the record, the actors in the eighteen segments are Dave Attell, Dave Chappelle, Margaret Cho, Louis C.K., David Cross, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Duchovny, Susie Essman, Janeane Garofalo, Kathy Griffin, Denis Leary, Richard Lewis, Kevin Nealon, Conan O’Brien, Patton Oswalt, Brian Regan, Ray Romano, and Sarah Silverman. It’s an impressive line-up and stacked with talent. I think that Conan O’Brien and the two Daves ended up with the funniest segments.

PRESENTATION: C-

The presentation is fairly barebones. All of the menus function as expected, and there is an easter egg on the Bonus Features menu, but the menus are pretty bland. There is a Play All option on the main menu, and the Sessions menu opens up an alphabetically-sorted list of sessions. Selecting a session plays the segment and then returns you to this menu.

I mentioned the choppiness of the pacing of the overall DVD earlier. I was trying to articulate this idea while watching the DVD, and only realized it when the credits came up. All of the credits for each episode had been shuffled to the back end of the DVD, and were not abridged at all. It’s an odd choice, and I’m not sure if it is due to licensing or contracts, but a combined credits sequence seems like it would have been a better idea and more smooth than a bunch of nearly identical sequences set one after the other.

While most of the disc is taken up with therapy sessions, there are a few extra segments in the bonus features that feature Ben & Laura specifically. They are good, but not great. However, these short bits are basically the extent of the extras.

When you add all of this together, the set feels jumbled together. There’s no introduction to set up each guest, no context, and no frills. You get a basic menu, a few extras, and not much else. It feels lackluster, particularly in the face of such an otherwise quality show. It seems like Dr. Katz as a show deserves more than this.

OVERALL: C+

I liked The Best of Dr. Katz, despite its shortcomings. It is a sharp disc and pretty funny. It’s interesting as a kind of time capsule, as well. A few of these actors were nowhere near as big then as they are now, Dave Chappelle and Sarah Silverman in particular. It’s neat to see the younger versions of actors and comedians who have since moved on to mega popularity, or vanished into near-obscurity. It’s just a shame that the total package isn’t as good as it should have been. The low price point helps a little, but not quite enough.