PBS Kids have given parents a tremendous amount of value with their latest Super Why release, “Cinderella and other fairy tale adventures” . This DVD collection includes four tales, Cinderella: The Prince’s Side of the Story”, “Snow White”, “The Prince and the Pauper” and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”.
Within the first 10 minutes of the indie comedy Slow Learners you know exactly how it will end. It’s a traditional romantic comedy, albeit on a much smaller budget, so it doesn’t take that much intuition to know the leads, both seemingly dorky and unlucky in love, will end up together. But even knowing how it ends, Slow Learners is still charming and funny from start to finish.
The German hard rock mainstays, Scorpions, may not the most commonly name-checked band by young metal groups looking to up their street cred when citing musical influences, but the band has been rattling teeth longer than many and has turned in some great albums over the years. In the documentary “Scorpions Forever and a Day,” filmmakers document the band’s three-year long farewell global tour, which kicked off in 2010. As told…
Housecore Horror Festival is a joyous occasion. Last year I had a blast in Austin and this year in San Antonio was no different. I drove up on a sunny Friday afternoon and entered the Holiday Inn around 2:00PM. The vendors were starting to set up and I had a quick chat with Bill Mosley of such legendary horror masterpieces as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Devil’s Rejects. What a…
OK Go have lent their inimitable musical style and unmatched charisma in their “Three Primary Colors”, while the musical side of the DVD continues with Taye Diggs and Elmo’s duet (“Let’s Go Driving”). Ziggy Marley spins things off into a reggae / pop style with his version of Simon Says. Matching current musicians with a more child-friendly subject material increases the replay value of the Play All Day With Elmo…
Myself and the wife do not have any kids at this time, but we may just have to put this DVD time that time when we do. This is due to the great educational merit of Just Add Spice, which is more for the parents than it is for their children. While ultimately, the tool does provide the child with a great hand up, Just Add Spice showcases the way…
Chuggington: Traintastic Adventures is a DVD release that captures some of the most well-liked Chuggington episodes into one handy DVD release. The Brewster Booster, Koko’s New Look, Stunt Brewster, Hodge and the Chugnav, Lights Camera Action Chugger, and Wilson and the Steam Team comprise the episodes presented here. There are a few additions present in this DVD. Our favorite of these additions have to be the Traintastic Adventures cards and…
This compelling doc about 1980s New Wave great Adam Ant shares such intimacy that you can’t help but think you’re witnessing something that you shouldn’t be watching. Far from the run-of-the-mill musician documentary that spends the first half discussing their childhood, rise to fame and move to obscurity, The Blueblack Hussar focuses almost exclusively on the now as Adam Ant tries to climb his way back up through small club…
In her first stand-up special since becoming one of the most talked up-ed comedians in decades, Amy Schumer delivers an impressive set. Directed by Chris Rock, someone who clearly understands the pressure Schumer felt leading up to this taping, the hour-long special is a tad uneven in spots, but is refreshingly original enough, that the weaker material is easily overlooked thanks to actual laugh out loud moments in the set.
Movies based on celebrities are often hit or miss and movies based on literary celebrities even more so, so it’s quite an impressive feat that actors Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg were able to turn in a beautifully engaging movie in The End of the Tour out of what was essentially a profile piece for Rolling Stone magazine.
HIT Entertainment is back at it with their latest DVD release, Playtime Pals. Playtime Pals is another in the line of compilations that provide children and their parents a number of different snippets of shows. This time, viewers can take on Bob the Builder, Kipper, Thomas & Friends, Barney, Fifi and the Flowertots and Fireman Sam in the course of an hour. Throw a bonus episode – Roary the Racing…
Episodes present on Elmo the Musical include Prince Elmo, Mountain Climber, Sea Captain, President, and the titular Elmo the Musical. The youngest set will appreciate the action which takes place in these episodes, while fans of Elmo will still be able to appreciate what is going on. The video quality of Elmo the Musical is absolutely stellar, ensuring that viewers will have an experience that parallels watching the original airing…
The quality in which The Halloween Tree was transferred over to the DVD format is absolutely stunning, making sure that viewers will be provided with an experience that is as near to the first time they watched the film. VHS editions of this title just pale in comparison to the Warner Archive edition. For those that have not had the opportunity to watch the film yet, it is framed around…
The Very Fairy Princess is a set of four stories – the titular tale, Extra Yarn, The Amazing Bone, and My Garden. Extra Yarn, written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen (This is Not My Hat) discusses how one can utilize their imagination to transform normal life into something fantastic. What initially is something that keeps a child interested can involve a family or town; all one needs…
A documentary about one-hit wonders (at least here in the U.S.) Spandau Ballet seems like an odd sell. But thanks to its loose feel and frank interviews, the movie somehow works. The London band led the New Romantic movement in the early ’80s alongside fellow eyeliner and blouse-clad bands like Duran Duran and OMD.
The premise of the British indie Riot Club is pretty intriguing. Unfortunately, the execution of the movie is not nearly as impressive and falls apart half way into the drama.
The 1980s were a boon for independent punk rock scenes in America as kids from the suburbs to the city realized they could start a band with little more than angst and a willingness to play loud music. Washington DC, thanks in part to the conservative Reagan and Bush administrations there, gave rise to one of the most exciting punk scenes at the time.
This 1987 documentary was never really considered a seminal film. It was selected for Sundance, seen by some and then forgotten. But with the release of American High Revisited the film gets a second chance. It shows what an average California high school in 1984 looked like, through the eyes of a foreign exchange student attending the school for a year.
After countless bizarre alien-based TV shows, The History Channel finally decided to take itself seriously once again with the 10-episode drama Texas Rising. And despite some questionable playing around with facts, the series is solidly entertaining
Easily the best music-based biopic to come along in years, Love & Mercy focuses on the tragic period in the life of Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson when he was struggling with mental problems and under the control of Svengali Dr. Eugene Landy (played flawlessly evil by Paul Giamatti).
