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DVD REVIEW: The Real Ghostbusters: The Complete Series – Sometimes Scary, Sometimes Funny, Always Smart!

Posted by   on December 21, 2008 · 2 comments

in DVD,DVD Reviews

Forget, for a minute, that the complete run of The Real Ghostbusters comes in a box that is the team’s fire station headquarters –with lenticular “no ghosts” symbol on one side and a lenticular Slimer on another. Ignore, also, that the five volumes that encompass the series are packaged in five steelbook cases and a 52-page booklet gives you the complete episode guide – listing all 134 syndicated episodes and the 13 one-hour episodes created for ABC-TV. Forget the extra bonus disc that gives you two hours of material that comes in addition to the 20 visual commentaries; introductions for the majority of the episodes [by various members of their creative teams]; 22 isolated music and effects tracks, and trivia from the vast majority of the eps.

Ghostbusters Set

The Real Ghostbusters is unique in the history of animation for a number of reasons: it was commissioned for both a network market [ABC] and the syndicated market; each series had its own writers, directors, designers and story editors, and it was one of the smartest, funniest and, yes, scariest animated series ever to be commissioned. The ABC eps tend to be funnier, while the syndicated eps tend to be scarier [no network Standards & Practices people looking over their shoulders]. The syndicated eps are also – surprisingly, given their turnaround time per ep – slightly better animated than the ABC eps.

Whether they were trying to find a way to get an angry ghost some nap time [while visiting the set of the movie of their careers – a juicy bit of meta filmmaking], or explaining how a throwaway character from the movie became the team’s mascot, The Real Ghostbusters did something that not many movie spin-offs do: capture the feel, tone and quality of the original movie. Every episode was fast paced and the jokes ranged from the slapstick [getting slimed, for example] to the satirical [the aforementioned quiet-seeking ghost couldn’t possibly be echoing a director’s insistent calls for quiet on the set, hmmm...?].

As I screened this prodigious set, I was pleased to note that J. Michael Straczynski [Babylon 5, Changeling] was the story editor on the syndicated eps and wrote a goodly number of them [including the aforementioned Hollywood satire and explanation for Slimer’s presence]. Under his guidance, the syndicated eps were so well researched [many of the show’s menaces were based on actual mythologies, folklores and urban legends] that they had genuine heft to them. While I’ve only mentioned a couple of episodes [the Hollywood spoof is entitled Take Two, while the story of how Slimer became the team’s mascot is called Citizen Ghost], the rest of series is also as much fun now as when it originally aired.

Features [beside those mentioned above]:

Volume One: Featurette: I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost; Image Gallery: Promotional and Development Art; Design Gallery: Night Game, and Episodic Scripts and Storyboards in PDF Format [DVD-ROM].

Volume Two: Animating The Real Ghostbusters Featurette; Image Gallery: Background Art; Design Gallery: The Man Who Never Reached Home, and Episodic Scripts and Storyboards in PDF Format [DVD-ROM].

Volume Three: Who You Gonna Call? The Heroes of The Real Ghostbusters Featurette; Image Gallery: Character designs of the Heroes; Image Gallery: Equipment, and Episodic Scripts and Storyboards in PDF Format [DVD-ROM].

Volume Four: Something Strange in Your Neighborhood: The Creatures of The Real Ghostbusters Featurette; Image Gallery: The Creature Designs of Everett Peck, and Episodic Scripts and Storyboards in PDF Format [DVD-ROM].

Volume Five: He Slimed Me! The Green World of Slimer! And The Real Ghostbusters Featurette; Image Gallery: Slimer! Character Designs, and Episodic Scripts and Storyboards in PDF Format [DVD-ROM].

Bonus Disc: Promo Pilot – the unaired four-minute original pilot; Promo Pilot Visual Commentary; Extended Interviews [Executive Producers Joe Medjuck & Michael C. Gross; Writer & Story Editor J. Michael Straczynski; Director & Storyboard Supervisor Kevin Altieri; Maurice LaMarche, Voce of Egon Spengler; Laura Summer, Voice of Janine Melnitz One, and Kath Soucie, Voice of Janine Melnitz Two]; DVD Promo Trailer [created for Comic Con 2008]; Alternate Opening and Closing Credits; Title Card Slideshow, and the Series Bible and Promo Pilot Storyboards for The Real Ghostbusters in PDF format [DVD-ROM].

Grade: The Real Ghostbusters: The Complete Series – A

Grade: Features – A+

Final Grade: A

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MOVIE REVIEW: Twilight – Lush, Romantic and Empty

Posted by   on November 22, 2008 · 1 comment

in Movie Reviews,Movies

Twilight is beautiful to look at, with its sweeping vistas, picturesque small town streets and almost inhumanly beautiful cast. It’s well filmed, though there are far too many close-ups and tight two-shots for my taste. The editing is flawlessly; Catherine Hardwicke does a perfectly fine job of eliciting performances from the cast – and the casting is as close to perfect as humanly possible [though Edward really should be a redhead if you want a precise translation from the novel which, yes, I read in anticipation of the movie].

Bella & The Cullens

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart work well as Edward Cullen and Isabella “Bella” Swan. Their chemistry is almost overwhelming in those close-ups and two-shots. Billy Burke is spot on as Bella’s police chief dad, Charlie, and Sarah Clarke is as effective as her mother, Renee Dwyer. Both the school kids and Edward’s family are equally appropriate – though Ashley Greene’s Alice is a small scale revelation.

So why doesn’t Twilight work?

Well, there are far too many moments that might work for fans, but there are as many that will be a source of humor to people who come in to the film cold. Plus there are moments where the film is perhaps too faithful to the books. The lingering looks that Edward and Bella exchange over the course of Twilight could amount to nothing more than two adolescents mooning over each other [“You’re so pretty,” or “You smell so good”]. It comes down to the script isn’t really structured well. There’s too much of the so-close-you-see-the-valleys-in-their-pores close-ups, and the use of a narrator is more than occasionally intrusive [the movie rule being “show – don’t tell”].

If you’re a student of film, you can certainly appreciate how well the film is made. Technically, it’s pretty damn close to perfect – from casting through final edit. If only the the story wasn’t so thin. All that angst and mooning might work in a Harlequin Romance, but in a moving picture [emphasis on “moving”], it simply doesn’t cut it – and not even the brawl between Edward and the evil James [Cam Gigandet] can save it.

Final Grade: C-

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DVD REVIEW: Halloween 30th Anniversary Commemorative Set – Big Chills, Cool Package!

Posted by   on October 15, 2008

in DVD,DVD Reviews

Halloween 30th Ann.

It’s been thirty years since a little horror movie changed the genre forever and gave John Carpenter a career. Halloween was something completely different – a story about a killer child who grew up to become the personification of evil, Michael Myers. To celebrate this anniversary, Anchor Bay Entertainment has packaged the three best films in the series along with a documentary on the Halloween phenomenon in a gorgeous display package featuring what they describe as “an exclusive display replica of the Michael Myers mask, which has become THE face of horror for the last three decades [sorry, head not included]! The six-disc set contains three versions of Halloween, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.

[click to continue…]

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MOVIE TRAILER/CLIP – Trailer Park of Terror

Posted by   on October 15, 2008

in Movie Trailers,Movies

Here is something fun. The folks behind the upcoming Indie Horror DVD Trailer Park of Terror give us a sneak at the film and a behind the scenes look at the makeup effects, that were created by the world class Drac Studios, the folks who also did the makeup effects on the upcoming Watchmen movie. Featuring top production values, the film’s special makeup effects were created by the Academy Award winning effects house Drac Studios (Todd Tucker, Harvey Lowry, Greg Cannom), whose numerous film credits include the upcoming Brad Pitt starrer The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Mrs. Doubtfire, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Pirates of the Caribbean, Apocalypto and Titanic. Trailer has already become a fan favorite at five film festivals including Slamdance (Park City, UT), Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors (LA) and Fantasia (Montréal).

In Trailer Park of Terror, six troubled high school students and their chaperon, an optimistic youth ministries Pastor, return from an outdoor character building retreat in the mountains. During a raging storm, their bus crashes, hopelessly stranding them in the middle of the Trucker’s Triangle, a forgotten locus of consummate evil in the middle of nowhere. The hapless group seeks shelter for the night in a seemingly abandoned trailer park they find down the road. However, when the sun sets, it’s not refuge they find. Instead, terror finds them in the form of Norma, a damned redneck reaper with a killer body who dispenses vengeance and death aided by her cursed companions, a bloodthirsty brood of Undead trailer trash.

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TELEVISION: Sanctuary – Sanctuary for All: Not an Empty Motto!

Posted by   on October 3, 2008

in Sci-Fi Channel,Television,TV Reviews

The Sci Fi Channel’s new series, Sanctuary [Fridays, 9/8C] is adapted from the internet series of the same name. It revolves around Dr. Helen Magnus and her “sanctuary for all.”

Dr. Will Zimmerman [Robin Dunne] is a mess. A forensic psychologist, he’s lost his job with the FBI and now plies his trade with a police force that pays no attention to his theories and opinions. When he attempts to help the police investigate a triple homicide – including two police officers – he begins an adventure that will clear up mysteries that have tormented him since he was eight years old, even as he encounters new mysteries that will change the way he thinks, acts and maybe even dreams.

sanctuary-cast

Who is Dr. Helen Magnus [Amanda Tapping]? Who is the blonde Valkyrie [Emilie Ullerup] on the motorcycle? And who is the tall, bald, sinister apparition [Christopher Heyerdahl] who can seemingly move faster than bullets? And what do they have to do with a scared ten-year old boy of Slavic ancestry? And what is Magnus’ semi-simian chauffeur, anyway?

Sanctuary’s two-hour premiere, Sanctuary For All, answers these questions and leads into a series that explores the concept that every creature from folklore and mythology is real. The physical Sanctuary is the place where Magnus and her team provide safety for those creatures who seek refuge, and confinement for those whose predatory natures threaten humanity.

Shot almost completely in CGI [only the cast and essential props are live action], Sanctuary has a unique look [think classic Universal horror mixed with urban cop show] and an equally unique feel. The premiere introduces the aforementioned characters plus a tall humanoid who might well be the so-called Missing Link. The ten-year old boy fits right in as a genetic mutation from Chechnya.

The script is solid, if not inspiring, and intriguing – especially since it gives us enough answers to make us wonder just how many more questions are out there waiting to be answered. The acting is, for the most part, adequate. Tapping’s English accent may wobble from time to time, but emotionally, she’s spot on. Dunne makes Zimmerman, who is almost a Daniel Jackson clone, seem fresh and different. There’s even a cameo from Battlestar Galactica alumnus Kandyse McClure as Zimmerman’s ex – just to emphasize how damaged he is.

The keyword here is potential. The premiere lays out an intriguing premise and gives us sufficient background to make us feel like we can relate that that specific world. It may be a bit stilted, but it manages to convey its concepts relatively clearly, and the cast of characters is an odd mix or near-immortal, exuberant youth, damaged professional and surly/quirky tech master. The mix of science and myth works, for the most part – and so does Sanctuary.

Final Grade: B-

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DVD REVIEW: The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior – Fast Acting B-Movie Fun!

Posted by   on August 24, 2008

in DVD,DVD Reviews

One of the mixed blessings of the continuing advancement of CG effects is that they make it possible for movies that might not otherwise exist to reach the public – usually in the form of sequels and/or prequels to theatrical films that earned enough to warrant a sequel/prequel, but maybe not quite enough to warrant a blockbuster – like The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior.

Box Art

The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior is, essentially, the story of how the young Mathayus [Michael Copon] became the warrior who would eventually become the Scorpion King. TSK2 is a jaunty little B-movie given more flare than it deserves by director Russell Mulcahy [Highlander], who almost made the resident Evil franchise interesting. Of course, in his RE movie, he didn’t have to contend with the stolid Randy Couture as Sargon, the brutish trainer of would-be Black Scorpion warriors and assassin of the king. Couture looks good in fight sequences, but has the acting chops of Howdy Doody.

Still, the adventures of Mathayus and his friends, Layla [Karen David] and the poet Aristophenes of Naxos – not Aristophenes of Corinth [that hack!] – [Simon Quarterman], are rousing fun in the tradition of spear & sandal/sword & sorcery epics of the sixties. You’ve got travel to exotic lands, messed up myths, and even an angry/jealous/lonely goddess [Astarte, played with cheerful malevolence by Natalie Becker].

Mulcahy keeps things moving at a quick enough pace that you might not even notice a scantily clad member of the group suddenly sprouting a couple of dangerous [and long] swords, and the effects are above average for a direct-to-DVD release. Plus, we get the usual gang of just-there-to-die-horribly characters to add the possibility of danger.

For a straight-to-DVD fantasy, TSK2 has a pretty decent assortment of bonus features: Deleted Scenes; Gag Reel; Fight Like an Akkadian: Black Scorpion Boot Camp [again, not quite the in-depth look at training it suggests, but still fun] Making of TSK2 [more a behind-the-scenes glimpse than an actual look at the making of the film]; Becoming Sargon: One on One Randy Couture [Couture discusses his time making the film]; On set With The Beautiful Leading Ladies [behind-the-scenes with Karen David and Natalie Becker]; Creating a Whole New World [Production design], and The Visual Effects of TSK2.

Grade: The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior – B-

Grade: Features: B+

Final Grade: B

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MOVIE REVIEW: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – Uninspired Sequel Bores!

Posted by   on August 2, 2008 · 1 comment

in Movie Reviews,Movies

The first two Mummy movies may not have been critical successes, but they did have an off-kilter charm that made them hits with the masses. As one member of those masses, I have to say that I did enjoy them, myself. So, why then, do I not care for the third instalment in the series?

The Emperor's Army

Writer/director Stephen Sommers only produced this film. They recast Evelyn O’Connell – and Maria Bello ain’t Rachel Weisz, not by half. Luke Ford, who plays the O’Connell’s grown son, Alex, has the charisma of a box of Shreddies. Brendan Fraser, who threw himself into Journey to the Center of the Earth, seems to be going through the motions here. John Hannah’s exclamation, “I hate mummies! They never play fair!” is the height of the wit in this installment’s banter [you know you’re in trouble when Hannah has to force his dialogue...]. The action set pieces – and the CG, for that matter – have a been there/done that feel about them.

On the plus side of the ledger, we have Jet Li, whose energetic and charismatic villain might have been fun if he’d a script worthy of him; Michelle Yeoh, who manages to rise above the morass that is this film, as an immortal witch whose one true love was drawn and quartered by Li’s Dragon emperor, and Isabella Leong brings some badly needed spirit to the proceedings as Lin, the witch’s equally immortal daughter, who incomprehensibly develops a thing for Alex.

Despite director Rob Cohen’s best efforts, The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor galumphs along at a lacklustre pace for a would-be summer blockbuster. If it wasn’t for the performances by the key Asian actors, this would be a complete disaster. Thanks to them, there are enough bright spots to avoid an F.

Final Grade: D

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