Category: Video Reviews

Posted on: September 11, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (Blu-Ray)

The Prophecy 3 was perhaps the best Prophecy movie created in the franchise, and Echo Bridge has been tapped with crafting a proper adaptation of the film to the Blu-Ray format. I feel that the work the company has done to bring the flick to 2011 is without reproach; what they have produced here is a great version of a classic film without a high price tag. This 2000 film…

Posted on: September 11, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Living Is Winning (DVD)

The amount of vim and vigor that the human spirit has present is something that no scientist could measure, but the willpower that certain individuals can exert will astonish even the most skeptical. Living Is Winning showcases one of these individuals, Andrew Johnson. Johnson’s desire is to win the Ironman Lake Placid, a race in which ey was knocked out of back in 2004. Laid low with a severe injury,…

Posted on: September 9, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Robbery Under Arms (DVD)

The book that Robbery Under Arms was based off of was originally printed in 1882, and it is one of the few books that maintained continual publishing for over 70 years. This Thomas Alexander Browne work transfers beautifully to the silver screen, and eir characters truly come to live with the inclusion of a superb cast and crew. The action is headed up by Peter Finch, who settles into the…

Posted on: September 9, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara (DVD Set)

The Eclipse series of releases by the Criterion Collection allows viewers to purchase at a low price significant parts of directors’ libraries. This provides buyers with a look into the works of someone that they would not normally have watched, and the company provides viewers with an additional amount of featurettes on many of these releases to sweeten the deal. The 28th release in the Eclipse Series, the Warped World…

Posted on: September 7, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Win Win (Blu-Ray)

Fans of Arrested Development will find Win Win to be a tremendously funny movie; the off the wall tenor of the film keeps things at a frenetic pace. The film is a veritable who’s who of comedic actors, including Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Tambor, and Bobby Cannavale. In Win Win, a lawyer takes a second job as a wrestling coach. When both jobs begin to run over into each other, the…

Posted on: September 6, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Sgt. Frog – Season 3 Part 2 (DVD Set)

Sgt. Frog is the perfect example of an anime that completely went under my radar when the first few seasons were released stateside. However, Funimation has created a great boxed set for the show’s third season, and has made it readily accessible to a wide swath of fans. The show has a tremendous set of voice actors which have matched mouth movements as well as the overall tenor of the…

Posted on: September 6, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Sound of Insects (DVD)

Peter Liecthi directed this film based on a novel by Shimada Masahiko, “Until I Am A Mummy”. Sound of Insects focuses on an outdoorsman happening upon a desiccated corpse of an older gentleman; the film rapidly moves into a discussion of the events that led up to eir death. The film is tremendously introspective and will have viewers wondering about their own life and times by the end of it;…

Posted on: September 5, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Super Hybrid (Blu-Ray)

Super Hybrid is the perfect time of mindless horror that will be perfect as a popcorn flick whenever it starts getting cold. This is not to say that this film is bad – rather, it has a must see style that will have viewers at the edges of their seats throughout the entirety of the flick. Super Hybrid seems to be a revamp of the classic Christine, but there are…

Posted on: September 4, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Wainwright Walks – Lake District (DVD Set)

I believe that few individuals that do not live in the Lake District will have any idea about what it is or how beautiful that it may be without watching this edition of Wainwright Walks. For those that have not watched this collection, the Lake District is nestled in the northwest corner of England, and Julia Bradbury provides tremendous amounts of knowledge as the host for this set. A panoply…

Posted on: September 3, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago (DVD)

The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago, a 1978 documentary by Jill Godmilow, is a great look into big city life at the end of the seventies. What was so commonplace to see in the years after the documentary was created seems extremely foreign for audiences in the current period. It is this distance in time and locale (Chicago versus the rest of the United States) that makes this such a…

Posted on: September 2, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Chuggington: It’s Training Time (DVD)

This volume of Chuggington contains six distinct episodes that will keep children interested for a hair over an hour. While each of these episodes represents teaching of a different moral, I feel that there are some common threads to be enjoyed here. For example, with the same set of characters, children will be able to come to know and enjoy them – they may even have a favorite, for example.…

Posted on: September 1, 2011 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Running Wilde: Season One (DVD)

You can see what the creators of Running Wilde were going for. Put together by Mitch Hurwitz, the brains behind the beloved (though clearly by not by enough people) Arrested Development, he even managed to snag Arrested alums like Will Arnett and David Cross for his second chance show at Fox. With Running Wilde, the hilariously odd characters seem almost like an offshoot of his former series, but the show…

Posted on: September 1, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

iCarly: The Complete 3rd Season (DVD Set)

It is nice to see that Nickelodeon is gradually moving to providing full season sets for their original shows. I always felt that the 6 to 10 episode collection style that is present in a number of companies’ inventories was a remnant of the VHS era, in which only a few episodes could be captured on a tape. With DVD (and Blu-Ray) formats possessing a great deal more space, whole…

Posted on: August 30, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Bad Company: Live at Wembley (Blu-Ray)

There are a number of different live show reviews that are released on a regular basis. However, many of these concert videos are seriously lacking something. This is not the case with the Blu-Ray edition of Bad Company’s Live at Wembley release. The release provides ample value with stellar shots and a perfect blend of tracks from all periods of the band’s existence. These sixteen tracks tie up “Feel Like…

Posted on: August 29, 2011 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

The Bang Bang Club (DVD)

The movie adaption of the strongly compelling memoir from war photographers Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva could have gone one of two ways – either a bloated Hollywood-take on war (think Michael Bay) or taken the sophisticated indie route, true to the source. The Bang Bang Club, out now on DVD, thankfully falls into the latter category. Starring Ryan Phillippe (the new go-to guy for indie dramas) as Marinovich and…

Posted on: August 26, 2011 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Storage Wars – Season One (DVD)

The folks at A&E have this tremendous knack of taking the truly odd and seemingly mundane tasks and turning them into DVR-worthy TV. Storage Wars is the latest and quite possible best example as it is now the networks most popular show. The first season focuses on four individuals who make their living by bidding on storage units that have gone up to auction after the owners fell behind on…

Posted on: August 20, 2011 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Zonad (DVD)

Like a cross between an 80’s American sex romp comedy and Waking Ned Devine, Zonad sounds dreadful on paper. An alcoholic runaway from a rehab hospital, clad in a red leather jumpsuit with a goofy helmet on his head is found in the home of a simpleton family in a small Irish town and the stranger manages to convince everyone that he’s an alien. Oh, and the family has a…

Posted on: August 17, 2011 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Billy The Exterminator – Season 3 (DVD)

There’s something about the state of Louisiana the draws reality shows like… well like New Jersey draws reality shows. While the Garden State has Jersey Shore, Cake Boss, Real Housewives of New Jersey and Jersilicious, Louisiana has Swamp People, Bad Girls Club, Steven Seagal Lawman, Trashmen, Real World New Orleans (yup, that one counts) and now Billy the Exterminator. Billy the Exterminator (the third season just out on DVD) profiles…

Posted on: August 13, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Best of Travel: South Africa (Blu-Ray + DVD)

The sheer sights that are present on this release are stunning. While individuals watching Best of Travel: South Africa will undoubtedly drive by some sort of interesting panoramas on a daily basis, this program hits viewers with vista after vista. This set captures three episodes hosted by Rudy Maxa, focusing (in order) on the safari process, Cape Town (South Africa) and gardens and wineries. In my opinion, each program showcases…

Posted on: August 12, 2011 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Van Von Hunter (DVD)

Van Von Hunter is tremendously funny, having an insightful look at the differences that are present between United States and Japanese culture. Where movies like Spinal Tap covered hair metal superstars, Van Von Hunter is a mockumentary that showcases the rise and fall of the slayer of evil, Van Von Hunter (Yuri Lowenthal). Deposed formally by eir previous bosses, Van Von Hunter moves from the U.S.A. to the east. Previously…