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Transformers: Age of Extinction

Peter Oberth — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 04:51:10 +0000

The Transformers film series continues with this fourth entry from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg. Mark Wahlberg and Jack Reynor star.

Tags:

Transformers Films,

Transformers 4,

Transformers,

Transformers 4: Age of Extinction,

Transformers: Age Of Extinction,

Transformers: Age Of Extinction

In Theatres:

Jun 27, 2014

Starring:

Studio(s):

Hasbro,

Di Bonaventura Pictures,

Tom DeSanto/Don Murphy Production,

Ian Bryce Productions

Director(s):

Edited by:

Music by:

Distributor(s):

Country(es):

Genre:

Producer(s):

Lorenzo di Bonaventura,

Brian Goldner,

Mark Vahradian

Running Time:

2 Hours, 37 Minutes

Written by:

Official Facebook:

PG-13

for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language and brief innuendo

Snorks: Season 1

Lee Roberts — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:42:06 +0000

Review:

TV on DVD

Exclusive?:

Air Dates

Grade:

1.95

The Snorks first came out from September 15, 1984 to May 13, 1989 on NBC, then in syndication from 1986 to 1989, then on the BBC in the late 1990s, and now the channel Boomerang has it.

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SNORKS:
Deep under the surface of the sea sits a community of a tiny group of creatures known only as the Snorks. Living happily in their steam powered city they carved out of the coral, the Snorks have all sorts of fun from exploring to having to save their city from starvation.

SEASON 1:
"I first discovered Capt. Ortega's logbook in a monastery overlooking the ocean. On the morning of February 13, 1634, Captain Ortega anchored his ship behind a barrier reef. That night, they were attacked by pirates. The ship set afire sank into the lagoon. Ten days later, the Captain was found. Delirious, still clutching his logbook, he described a world of tiny, underwater creatures no bigger than his thumb. No one believed him, but you know, there's something about Captain Otega's story. That makes me believe it's true."
That's the opening of every episode of season 1 of Snorks and I had to include it in this review. Why? Because, it's one of the most random, useless, and non-related openings for a television show that I've ever seen. Who is this random, unknown guy that's talking about Captain Ortega and exactly what about his story makes the guy believe? I don't know and I don't think the creators of the Snorks knew either. First of all this opening explanation is set like it was during the 1800's then the first episode starts in present time (which was the 80's for this) where a shuttle is taking off. Why the opening is set up like this I just don't know, it's confusing, at least for me as an adult, maybe not for kids, but it explains nothing other than saying oh yeah there are these things called the Snorks no one knows about except for this long dead captain and some guy who read his diary.

Not only does the opening of the show make no sense but the show itself don't either. I know it's only a cartoon and it don't have to make sense having a bunch of little creatures with tubes on the tops of their heads being able to breath under water but I would have liked some of what they did in the show to make sense. Like why the Snorks, who can breathe and talk under water start to worry that their ship is taking in water from holes in it. I also don't get how a ship that's already full of water takes on more water in it and then the Snorks worry about plugging the holes like they are going to sink. And how is it the ship can't take the pressure but they can when just swimming around?
So many questions and random things happen in this show that trying to make any sort of sense of it is a useless task. I know that when I was kid I watched this and I liked it, it was a fun show, but as an adult the appeal is not quite the same. However, I still enjoyed it, mostly because nothing in this show makes any sense other than the writers seem to be throwing it all in just because they can.
It's a fun show with some plots that seems like they are trying to tell a story and give some good morals for kids but I think it's lost in the content of randomness. Still, with all the odd characters, like Tooter who speaks by making odd noises and yes toots (no not that kind of toot), there's also the Governor who bumbles, Allstar who always wears a star on his chest, and the council that sit in their shell but are always in shadows. Throw in the multicolor and looks of the Snorks, which I think is the best lesson of this cartoon that they all get along and work and live together, and what you get is a cartoon that will be appealing to kids.

Snorks

Season:

Talent(s):

Starring:

Snorks Season 1

Lee Roberts — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:42:06 +0000

Snorks

Season: 1

Starring:

Tags:

Snorks,

On DVD:

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Discs:

Snorks

Lee Roberts — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:42:06 +0000

Snorks

Tags:

Snorks,

On DVD:

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Starring:

Studio(s):

Genre:

Anime,

Kids

Running Time:

286 minutes

Discs:

Frankenweenie

Matt Rodriguez — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:21:47 +0000

Frankenweenie

Review:

Theatrical

Exclusive?:

Grade:

2.96

Tags:

Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie wasn’t always the black-and-white animated dog we see in the upcoming film. At first it was a 1984 live-action short film that got Burton fired from Disney. It appears that Burton will have the last laugh, though. The film is an adaptation the classic Frankenstein horror story in canine form using stop motion animation and old school black-and-white to craft an homage to the Hollywood monster.

Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) doesn’t have many friends and spends most of his time doing science experiments in his parents’ attic. His best friend is his beloved dog Sparky. One day Sparky has an unfortunate run-in with a car, leaving Victor devastated. Love is a very powerful thing, though, as Victor devises a plan to resurrect Sparky during a stormy night. The experiment works and Sparky is alive once again, but Victor must keep his undead dog hidden from the rest of the public.

Frankenweenie is a visual masterpiece. The black-and-white style of the film works amazingly well with the stop-motion animations and horror theme to give it a style similar to Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. The characters themselves are strictly Burton-esque, with elongated limbs and wide, doll-faced eyes. It’s actually quite creepy to watch and may be a bit too scary for the little ones.

The story revolves around the tale of Frankenstein and how the scientistcreated a monster from a random assortment of limbs only this time around it’s a child’s beloved pet that becomes the so-called monster. When the other kids get word about Victor’s experiment, they too want to resurrect their long gone pets. Pretty soon the entire town is in chaos as were-rats, giant sea monkeys, and a Godzilla-like turtle, run amok. While the story itself is nothing special, it does pay homage to the classic movie monsters from the early days of Hollywood. It could definitely use a bit of work, though.

There aren’t many surprises, making Frankenweenie about as straight forward as they come. It’s a story about a boy and his love for his dog, wrapped in a Halloween shell. As I said before, it may be a bit too scary for the kids, but for the adults it’s not scary enough. It sort of plagues this middle ground where it’s just entertaining enough.

Tim Burton shines brightest with his animated films and Frankenweenie is no exception. The visuals alone make it worth watching even though the story suffers. It may not be as great as some of Burton’s other masterpieces, but it definitely blows Dark Shadows out of the water. Then again, that wasn’t that difficult to do in the first place.

Talent(s):

Starring:

Transformers Prime: One Shall Stand

Lee Roberts — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 03:17:55 +0000

Transformers Prime: One Shall Stand

Review:

DVD

Exclusive?:

Bonus Features

Grade:

4.36

•A Look Back At One Shall Stand with Jeff Kline, Duane Capizzi and Steven Melching, •Animatics

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TRANSFORMERS PRIME ONE SHALL STAND:
Every great leader has a great enemy and for Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, his enemy is the evil lord of the Decepticons, Megatron. Both have been in many battles against each other that’s lasted through the endless reaches of space and on two different planets. Now after all their fights Megatron has finally acquired the upper hand by getting the raw power of Dark Energon that has powered him up enough where he could beat Optimus Prime. Fate however has different plans for Optimus Prime with the return of one of the most dealiest and evil of all, Unicron. It will take an alliance between two mortal enemies to stop Unicron as he threatens Earth and every human on it with certain death.

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE:
I’ve been a fan of the Transformers since they first appeared in the 80s. I still watch the original series, I still have my original (albeit in rough shape and missing every removable part) toy of Optimus Prime as well as other versions of this character. Over the years I’ve watched all the series that have been made of the Transformers and I got to say that this newest version is second to the original cartoon. When I saw this DVD movie was coming out at first I got extremely excited because at first I thought it was going to be a brand new movie of the animation that airs on television but was let down when I learned that it would be 7 episodes from the end of season 1 and beginning of season 2 of the show put together to form a 154 minute long movie.

At first I was disappointed in learning that One Shall Stand was only going to be the same 7 episodes that I had already seen when they first aired. Those feeling quickly went away as I got about 15 minutes into the movie. With no commercials to deal with this movie ended up looking just like a movie instead of 7 episodes put together. I don’t know what was done but as I watched this movie there where a lot of times that I really couldn’t spot where the commercial breaks where in the episode. Even with knowing that I had watched these when they aired and knowing that there were commercials during the show, there’s a flow to it where there’s no pauses or those hard breaks going between segments. If I had never seen this show before and didn’t know that it comprised of 7 episodes I would never have guess it wasn’t a movie.

There’s so much to like about this movie, the most important aspect for this show and movie is the voice talents of Peter Cullen and Frank Welker. Both of these men were the original voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron from the first Transformers series. These are the men that brought the characters to life, one pure and good while the other twisted and evil, it was given in the voices. Now in this new series these actors are back again to give these two great characters the depth that only they can give them. Other aspects that make this such a great movie/show, are the supporting characters, robots and humans, the non ending action sequences, the stellar looks of the shows effects and CGI, and stories that build off the last one. One Shall Stand has some great twists and turns, one in fact that I never knew about until watching this, I won’t say what exactly but a hint is it deals with Optimus Prime’s past on Cybertron. Even with this being 154 minutes long it didn’t feel like it and when it did end I was wanting to watch more. One Shall Stand has a great plot, it’s well written, the editing is superb, and the best thing about it, the epic battle between Prime and Megatron. This is a good treat for Transformers fans and if this is the first time with Transformers it will make you a fan. And as a closing note, one that just adds to the goodness of this, Unicron!

Talent(s):

Starring:

Transformers Prime: One Shall Stand

Lee Roberts — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 03:17:55 +0000

Transformers Prime: One Shall Stand

Tags:

Release Date:

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

On DVD:

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Starring:

Studio(s):

Director(s):

Genre:

Running Time:

154 minutes

Pac-Man: The Complete First Season

AJ Garcia — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:07:15 +0000

Review:

TV on DVD

Exclusive?:

Did You Know:

Grade:

4.50

The first cartoon based on a video game. ~IMDB

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Based On A Video Game

Hanna-Barbera

From The 80's

When I was a kid and my life consisted of video games, comic books, and whatever else was left to the imagination I spent a lot of my time watching the various Hanna-Barbera cartoons that came on television. Of course Pac-Man was a given for any kid who had grown up with the video game. It was the first and only time that you could see an animated show starring old Pac and his family (including Mrs. Pac-Man and Pac Jr.). I still have fond recollections of all those great shows and how every Saturday morning I’d watch them on channel 13 with a grilled cheese sandwich at my Nana’s house. Good times. Looks like they can go on indefinitely with yet another solid Hanna-Barbera release.

Good news. Pac-Man has been tested with the new generation of kids and like my generation the kids still love it. So what if by today’s standards the animation would be considered extremely simple. For me I love the zany music that accompanies all Hanna-Barbera cartoons, the familiar goofy voice over work, and the simplicity of a cartoon that was one part hilarious fun and one part moral values (though as a kid, even to some adults, you’ll have such a great time watching you won’t even notice).

The Complete First Season release is a monster containing 13 episodes on 2 discs at a whopping 312 minutes. If you remember the show you’ll know that each episode actually contains a couple of episodes and some filler short cartoons in the middle, per program. You get the holiday specials for that season and everything else in-between. Simply an awesome release that any serious collector will be more then happy to get their hands on. Enjoy Pac-Fans. Wacka! Wacka!