Back in the olden times, when I used to run a video store, and people still relied on physical media to watch movies, I used to do reviews of whatever movie or box set was being released from time to time. I think I might do one final review--I got a package coming in today, and this is what I'll be watching this weekend...
I haven't written a proper review in years, and I don't post as often as I used to anymore, but I think I might take a chance with these. I got the blu-rays coming in today, I'll be watching this this weekend, and will try to get a review up before Thanksgiving--because I'm old, I work, and I'm curious to see if I have the energy to write one last review.
Those who are interested in reading it, stay tuned...
When we last left off, we had just finished covering the slate for May. But what about the rest of the summer? Glad you didn't ask! I'll give you the heads up of what you can either look forward to or avoid fur June AND July!
So...let's get this over with!
Dark Phoenix – June 7
Synopsis: When the X-Men’s latest mission takes them into space, a solar flare triggers changes within Jean Grey, making her both extremely powerful and unstable. Now, they must do what they can to save her and themselves before her newfound power destroys everything around her, including herself.
My Hot Take: The X-Men film series is a franchise that seems to have suffered from diminishing returns with each sequel. Aside from the first two movies and the excellent Logan, everything else ranged from forgettable to just plain bad. After seeing the trailer, it’s not going to change things. It’s been done since late 2017, but has had multiple reshoots, and its release was bumped twice. I’ve seen very little promotion for this one, and I think at this point, Disney is just going to quickly release it, and then mothball the franchise until the studio figures out how to properly implement it in the overall MCU.
Verdict: Shame that a once-favored franchise is going out on such a low note. Could be worse though—at least it’s not The New Mutants.
The Secret Life of Pets 2 – June 7
Synopsis: Max the dog must face some new changes in his life when his owner get married and has a child of her own.
My Hot Take: The sad thing is, I’ve watched the first film, but I cannot tell you anything about it to save my life. The only thing I remember was that before the sequel started production, original voice actor Louis C.K. was given the boot when word got out about his sexual misconduct with several women. Patton Oswalt was then brought on to replace him, and he’s not bad. As far as the movie itself goes, it seems okay enough, but there’s not enough interest for me to see a follow-up
Verdict: It’s something to take the kids to until Toy Story 4 opens later in the month, so I’m not gonna give it any grief. I am curious if the fallout from C.K.’s real-life antics will affect the box office, though.
Men in Black: International – June 14
Synopsis: This new film focuses on a London based division of the MiB.
My Hot Take: Was there anyone really asking for another Men in Black movie? I haven’t heard much in the way of promotion for this, and as charming as Chris Hemsworth is, I’m not sure if he’s enough to carry this movie, and Neeson looks to be collecting paychecks these days.
Verdict: It’ll probably do okay, but it’ll wind up being forgotten quickly.
Shaft – June 14
Synopsis: A young FBI agent turns to his father—the legendary John Shaft II—to help solve it. Along the way, they also turn to their uncle and granduncle—the original John Shaft—for assistance.
My Hot Take: This was a film that I was unaware until recently. The 2000 version wasn’t bad, but I thought this was gonna be some sort of reboot, not a direct sequel. After seeing the trailer, it looks to be decent enough, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Verdict: A modest budget combined with the drawing power of Samuel L. Jackson may push this to be a solid earner, if not remarkable. Fans of both the 1971 original and 2000 follow-up may get a kick out of it, but it's probably not gonna change the world.
Child’s Play – June 21
Synopsis: A loose remake of the 1988 horror film with a modern take; this time, instead of a doll being possessed by the soul of a serial killer, it’s a smart toy that goes haywire. In other words—a stab-happy Alexia speaker with doll limbs.
My Hot Take: Okay, kids… this one requires a little history lesson, so you may wanna take notes:
In 1988, MGM/UA released the original movie to modest success. While profitable, they sold the franchise to Universal Pictures, who wen on to make 4 more theatrical releases, two direct-to-video sequels that were well received, and are currently in the process of making a new TV series for SyFy, all of which involved the franchise’s original creators, as well as the voice of Chucky, Brad Dourif.
However, although they sold the franchise, MGM owns the rights to the original film, which they decided to remake without the involvement of the original creators, or the original voice of Chucky, who has been replaced by Mark Hamill. Unless this movie has some pretty creative kills or a really high body count, I don’t see too many people lining up for this one. Besides, the kid looks like he's 13, why the hell is he still playing with toys for?
Verdict: This would have been perfect for a Halloween release instead of the middle of the summer. I got a feeling it’s not going to be the hit that MGM is hoping for. Besides, how scary are killer dolls in 2019, anyway? (Hold that thought...)
Toy Story 4 – June 21
Synopsis – I couldn’t tell you, seeing that I haven’t watched any of the movies since that first one.
My Hot Take: I’m not going to say that these movies are bad or anything; I imagine the quality is still good, but how much gas is still left in the tank when it’s four movies deep already?
Verdict: It’s a Pixar movie, so it should do fine. However, it’s a bit of a bummer when all of these movies are so indistinguishable from another.
Annabelle Comes Home – June 28
Synopsis: When demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren store a possessed antique doll in their artifacts room, its presence awakens the evil spirits contained within, and come looking for the Warren’s en year old daughter.
My Hot Take: Not for nothing, but those Conjuring movies and their spinoffs definitely have atmosphere and decent performances going for them, this looks to continue the tradition. Also, being that one of the real-life Warrens had passed away a few weeks ago, that might attact people to see what this series is all about.
Verdict: There may be two movies about killer dolls this June, but I got the feeling this will be the superior of the two, both in terms of quality and scares.
Spider-Man: Far From Home – July 2
Synopsis: Following the events from Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker heads to Europe on a school trip, when tasked by Nick Fury to help stop a group called the Elementals.
My Hot Take: Homecoming was a good film and one of the better Spider-Man movies. At least until Into the Spider-Verse came out and became not only my favorite Spider-Man movie, but favorite superhero movie period. With Endgame fresh in most people’s minds, it’ll be interesting to see how Phase 4 of the MCU wraps up.
Verdict: With pretty much the same creative forces behind Homecoming, I predict more of the same thing—which in this case, isn’t a bad thing.
Actual production still from the movie!
Crawl – July 12
Synopsis – A woman trapped in a flooding house during a severe hurricane must contend with blood-thirsty alligators. Yes, the premise is as stupid as it sounds.
My Hot Take: Although this is a major release from Paramount Pictures, I’ve yet to see a trailer, a teaser poster—anything related to this movie. With the release date only less than two months, that’s…not a good sign, honestly.
Verdict: Got a feeling this is gonna be a dud. If the studio doesn’t give a crap, why should we?
The Lion King – July 19
Synopsis: Yet another live-action version of an animated Disney classic.
My Hot Take: I’m waiting for the moment when all of these remakes start to cost the studio money when they start underperforming. It’s one thing to remake a movie that did modestly ok, but a bulk of what Disney is remaking is unnecessary. As far as this one goes, it’s appealing visually, but it’s a story that’s been told twice already both in animated form and as a Broadway musical.
Verdict: It’s looks to be miles better than Aladdin, but it’s a case of “been there, done that, bought the t-shirt”. Stick with the blu-ray of the original.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – July 26
Synopsis – A fading television star and his stunt double try to make a name for themselves in the late 1960’s film industry.
My Hot Take: It seems to be typical Tarrantino—well written dialogue and a stable of favorite actors he likes to work with are the norm for him. This is noteworthy being that this is first movie that he’s putting out post Weinstein, as he (and the rest of Hollywood) has cut ties with him. I’m interested to see how much of the Sharon Tate angle factors into this movie (For those who don’t know what Sharon Tate was, do your Googles and learn for yourself).
Verdict: It’s Quentin Tarrantino—you’re either in, or out.
And that's it for this edition. I'll do the August dumping ground next week. Right now, I gotta go to the can.
So... what's on the schedule--any of these or something else that's not listed? Sound off below!
Ah, summer. That all too brief 3 month period where people all over head outdoors to soak up some sun, hang out together, and enjoy the company of family and friends.
Who needs that crap?! overcrowded beaches, overpriced food, sunburns,... the hell with that! You're better off heading the local cineplex... where there's overcrowded seats, overpriced food... but at least there's air conditioning.
Of course there's the big question of what to see. Not sure how much help I can be, but at least I can give you a heads-up on the major releases coming out this summer, and throw in my unwanted two cents.
With that said, onto the movies!
Avengers: Endgame - April 26
Synopsis: With the universe devastated following the events of Infinity War, Earth's mightiest heroes must form a plan to stop Thanos once and for all.
My Hot Take: Look, folks...after 22 movies, you're either in two camps--those who wanna see how this ends, or those who can't wait for this to be done and over with. Nothing I say is gonna sway any minds at this point.
Verdict: This is going to make so much money, Disney can afford to secede from the rest of the world and become its own city-state--surprised the haven't done so already, to be honest. It's already cracked $100 mil in China--the question is how long will it take to hit the billion dollar mark. This is the juggernaut to beat.
Ugly Dolls - May 3
Synopsis: A group of dolls learn what it means to be different, blah, blah, blah, yackety, smackety...
My Hot Take: Honestly, it looks like any number of generic CG animated movies that's been released within the last 20 years, with a cast of various C-list actors. Add in the fact it's opening the weekend after Avengers and before Detective Pikachu, and this race is lost before it's even started.
Verdict: There isn't anything that's going to save this movie. Sandwiched between two major titles, this will be released and forgotten within two weeks of its opening.
Pokemon Detective Pikachu - May 10
Synopsis: A young man whose father goes missing embarks on a journey to find him, helped by a wise-cracking, English speaking Pokemon.
My Hot Take: It's funny how people went from looking their minds over the idea of a live-action Pokemon movie to utter shock once the first trailer released. between the visuals of Pokemon that are "realistic" looking, but still true to their video game likeness. Plus you got Deadpool's voice coming out of Pikachu's body, yet..the whole thing...seems to work? This defies all expectations.
Verdict: Early reviews are positive, and the studios already green-lit the sequel while the first was in post-production. With the next proper game releasing this fall, there's no way this doesn't make a mint. To top it all off, this looks to be the first video game-based movie that looks to be actually good, and a hit with fans and newcomers alike.
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum - May 17
Synopsis: On the run with a $14 million global bounty on his head and no support from the Continental, the legendary contract killer must do whatever it takes to survive.
My Hot Take: Those first two movies were long on both style and action, and this looks to be more of the same. Add the fact this this is the first film in the series to enjoy a prime summer release slot, and you got the formula to make serious bank. Keanu still looks to be in his prime.
Verdict: As long as they continue to keep the mystique of the character, I'll be there opening weekend.
Aladdin - May 24
Synopsis - It's a live-action remake of the animated Disney movie. It's not exactly War and Peace, y'know.
My Hot Take: The first of two Disney remakes this summer no one really asked for. I still can't believe they cast Will Smith as the Genie. It's not the worst thing to come out this summer, but between Smith and Guy Ritchie directing,I don't have high hopes for this one.
Verdict: Between this and The Lion King, this is the inferior of the two. At best, this will perform below expectations.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters - May 31
Synopsis: With the emergence of numerous titans around the world, including Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah, humanity must turn to Godzilla as the one who can either save the world--or ultimately end it.
My Hot Take: I imagine the discussion for the sequel went like this:
Fans: "Godzilla sucked! He was hardly in it!"
Studio: "But we promise the follow-up makes up for it. In fact--"
Fan: "What's with the fake-ass kaiju?! Where's Rodan and the rest of them?"
Studio: "They're going to be in this one! I'm telling you--"
Fans: "You suck!"
Studio: "FINE!!! GODZILLA! CLASSIC MONSTERS FIGHTING! MAY 31ST! NOW F**K OFF! I DON'T NEED THIS SHIT!!!
That's pretty much it--more or less.
Verdict: I've been a fan of Godzilla since I was a little kid, and after seeing the latest trailer, it just brings those memories back. I'm going to be there opening weekend for this one.
That's it for now--I'll be doing installments for the remainder for the summer schedule within the next week or so.
Right there is a picture from my balcony about 20 minutes ago. Doesn't look to bad, considering Hurricane Lane should be hitting us sometime tomorrow, huh? Got the food and water prepped, charging batteries and battery packs for my electronic devices in case we lose power, and I'm heading home from work early tomorrow afternoon before the city bus lines shut down. The storm should hit sometime tomorrow night.
Damn, it's been over six months since I bothered to make a half-assed effort to update this thing...I'm gonna have to try to get back into properly making blog posts.
To anyone who's interested, I'm down for GTA Online for the 360 this weekend if you are.
Right now I'm typing this because I just need to do something to keep myself from losing the few shreds of sanity I have left from typing and sending multiple resumes to different places in the hopes of landing a new job. The company I work for had a contract to work with the goverment for a set amount of time. Right now, time is about up for me; I received an estimated time of departure for me which will be before the month is out. I've known that I was leaving, but I haven't had a exact deadline until today. I've been posting resumes in the meantime, but it's less than encouraging when places take their time to call you back--or don't even call you at all.
It's frustrating when anyone loses their job in this day and age, but it stings more when you lose it through no fault of your own. It'd be one thing to be canned because you fvcked up at your job--at least you have a rational reason to blame yourself and feel like a failure. But somehow, I still feel like I failed, and it's my fault. It's irrational, nonsesical and just plain stupid. And I can't help it at all.
For the past month or so I've been waking up every day wondering how are you're gonna make ends meet, and it's starting to take its toll on me physically. Lack of appetite and lack of sleep is a sonuvab!tch, believe me. I'm grateful to have some money stashed away, and the infinite love, understanding, and support of my wife. Without her I be in a huge world of misery.
I wish I had a point with this blog post, but I don't. All I can say is that if you got someone to love waiting for you when you go home tonight--be it a significant other, a friend, a pet, anything--consider yourselves among the lucky...it's more than what some people have.
Back to work for me...at least for a little while longer, anyway. Talk to you soon.
After about two delays, a destroyed hard drive, an entire rewrite from memory, it's finally ready to be posted. Feel free to check out my take on Vol.1 for those who missed it. Heres my review of Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume Two, courtesy of Warner Home Video.
The Feature:
For almost 80 years, Looney Tunes have been entertaining audiences the world over with their hilarious antics and memorable characters. As part of the second volume in their ongoing Platinum Collection series, Warner Bros. has released 50 additional cartoon shorts, 10 of which have never before released for home video--uncut, uncensored, and digitally re-mastered specifically for Blu-Ray.
Disc 1 is a Best of collection, featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky, Pig and others:
A Wild Hare (1st official Bugs Bunny cartoon, Elmer Fudd, 1940)
Buckaroo Bugs (Bugs Bunny, 1944)
Long-Haired Hare (Bugs, 1949)
Ali Baba Bunny (Bugs and Daffy, 1957)
Show Biz Bugs (Bugs and Daffy, 1957)
The Wise Quacking Duck (Daffy, 1943)
What Makes Daffy Duck? (Daffy and Elmer, 1948)*
Book Revue (Daffy, 1946)
Deduce, You Say (Daffy and Porky Pig, 1956)
Porky in Wackyland (Porky, 1938)
You Ought to Be in Pictures (Porky and Daffy, 1940)
Porky inEgypt (Porky, 1938)
Back Alley Oproar (Sylvester and Elmer (1948)
Little Red Rodent Hood (Sylvester, 1952)
Canned Feud (Sylvester, 1951)
Gift Wrapped (Tweety, Granny and Sylvester, 1952)
Birdy and the Beast (Tweety, 1944)*
Home, Tweet Home (Tweety and Sylvester, 1950)*
Going! Going! Gosh! (Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, (1952)
Zipping Along (Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, 1953)
Scent-Imental Romeo (Pepe LePew, 1949)
The Foghorn Leghorn (Foghorn, Henry Hawk, Barnyard Dawg, 1951)
The High and the Flighty (Foghorn, Barnyard Dawg, Daffy, 1956)*
Tabasco Road(Speedy Gonzales, 1957)
Mexicali Schmoes (Speedy, 1959)
Disc 2 contains shorts featuring memorable supporting characters, such as Beaky Buzzard, Nasty Canasta, Cecil Turtle, and A. Flea, as well as The Rabbit Season Trilogy featuring Bugs, Daffy and Elmer. Theres also a collection featuring classic Hollywood actors, and one-shot characters:
My Little Buckaroo (Daffy, Porky, Nasty Canasta, 1954)
Barbary CoastBunny (Bugs, Nasty Canasta, 1956)
Tortoise Beats Hare (Bugs, Cecil Turtle, 1941)
Tortoise Wins By a Hare (Bugs, Cecil Turtle, 1943)
Rabbit Transit (Bugs, Cecil Turtle, 1947)
Porky's Hare Hunt (Porky, 1938)*
Hare-Um Scare-Um (1939)*
Prest-O Change-O (1939)*
Elmer's Candid Camera (Elmer, 1940)
Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (Bugs, Beaky Buzzard, 1942)
The Bashful Buzzard (Beaky, 1945)
The Lion's Busy (Beaky, 1950)*
Strife with Father (Beaky, 1950)*
An Itch in Time (A. Flea, Elmer, 1943)
A Horsefly Fleas (A. Flea, 1947)*
HollywoodSteps Out (1941)
Page Miss Glory (1936)
Rocket-Bye Baby (1956)
Russian Rhapsody (1944)
Dough Ray Me-Ow (1948)
* Notes cartoons that have never been released on DVD.
I dont think I need to sell readers on the old school Looney Tunes cartoons. These are characters and shorts that are practically etched into the fabric of American animation and pop culture. In fact, its difficult to find someone who isnt familiar with them in one form or another. Rather, most people want to know, Is this set worth my hard earned money? Allow me to answer that for you.
First off, I have to let you know that like last year's set, most of the shorts featured have been released in earlier box sets as part of Warner's discontinued Spotlight Collection, and I know some people may not want to pay again for something they might already own. However, the picture quality in these cleaned up sets are amazing, especially considering they were re-mastered in the older sets as well. Colors are bright and dark hues are inky, like they should be. Theres dust spots on some cartoons, but thats a result from the source material and not from the re-mastering process; it help retains its natural look.
Some of these shorts--particulary some of the black and white ones--almost look like they might have been made recently. In You Ought To Be in Pictures, theres a mix of animation and live action that still holds up very well to this day. Its hard to believe it was made over 70 years ago.
Another reason this may warrant a purchase is because the selections are great and varied, offering something for everyone for fans of all of the characters. My particular favorites are the ones featuring Bugs and Cecil Turtle, being that they're one of the few shorts that has Bugs getting the short end of the stick. Theres something about him seeing him being made the fool that just makes it that much funnier. Even if youre not a fan of a particular character, theres such variety in the set that youre bound to find at least ONE cartoon you might enjoy.
Sounds
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection vol. 2 is presented in 2 dolby digital 1.0 mono tracks, one of English, the other Spanish. They sound perfectly fine to untrained ears like mine, but audiophiles may be disappointed. There are also English and French subtitles.
Visuals
All of the shorts are presented in a full frame aspect. Ive touched on them earlier in the review, but once again they look even better than the previous DVD versions. Even if you own the older sets, they may well be worth the upgrade.
Extras
This is once again where the collection shines and makes it worth the money.
37 of the sets 50 cartoons contain commentary tracks by various animation directors, and historians, some of which contain audio interviews with the original creators. There are also some isolated musical and sound effects tracks on certain cartoons as well. Disc 1 contains three extra featurettes, while disc two contains five.
Disc 3 is where the bulk of the extras are. Theres a featurette that focuses on Looney Tunes producer Leon Schlesinger, one on director Friz Freling, as well as an episode ToonHeads, the Cartoon Network series that focuses on rarely seen cartoons.
Theres also two documentaries that focus on the life and career of animation director Tex Avery. Even better, theres also 11 cartoons he's directed from where he went to rival studio MGM. Featuring Droopy, Screwball Squirell, the Wolf and Red Hot Riding Hood, all of these cartoons are shown completely uncensored. However, they haven't been remastered, but theyre still watchable.
Still not enough? There are also at least 16 more rarely seen cartoons that are included as well. The amount of extras are staggering, and itll take some time to get through them all.
Please note there are two things that must be known about this set:
I just want to reiterate that a lot of these shorts were released in previous sets in Warner's now discontinued Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD series. The visuals in this set are vastly superior and improved, but I rather have people not get upset for buying a set full of cartoons they may have owned previously.
The other thing is that this set is also available on standard DVD as a two disc set, however the third disc full of bonuses IS A BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE, meaning youll miss out on a lot if you purchase the standard version. I'd go with the Blu-Ray version if you can. Its not that expensive, the set retails for about $40, but you can get it for about $30 in Wal-mart and other stores, as well as on Amazon.
Final Word
This is a great set for both casual and die-hard fans alike. The amount of cartoons, bonus material and a reasonable price point makes it worth picking up. For those who may have the older sets, I would still recommend this as a purchase being that the improved picture quality and decent price are very hard to pass up. I cant wait to see what theyll do for volume 3.
Nothing too important here, just that my delayedreview(being that my hard drive died and I had to rewrite the whole thing from my slowly fading memory) will be posted tomorrow morning with no personal screengrabs. I might get pics from other sites, but I'm not too certain about it, it feels like cheating or plagarism if I do so.
At any rate, it'll definitely be up tomorrow--maybe tonight, depending on how soon I get home from work today.
I had my review all set, and good to post yesterday--wouldv'e done it Monday as scheduled, but I wound up working late. I went to upload it from an old hand-me-down external hard drive I got from a friend. I went to open the file, and suddenly the light on the drive flickered, dimmed and died out. Went to re-click on it...no response. My drive is now a paperweight.
Well, actually...it's now a subject of conversation on my desk, with the discussion usually beginning with how I managed to embed the sharp end of a claw hammer directly into it in a fit of rage, center mass. It's just as well, it was on its last legs anyway, and it was for the best that I put it out of my misery. Sucks that I now have to re-write it from memory, which I'm currently in the process of doing now. Look for it this weekend.
I've had a lot of difficulty in finding the time--and motivation--to actually write anything for the blog lately, but between work, Borderlands 2, real life and everything else in between, I've actually hit the halfway point in writing my latest Blu-Ray review. After I complete the writing portion, I'll do some screengrabs and if things go well, I'm on track to have it up by Monday, if not this weekend.
Nothing much else to add...God, I lead a boring life, huh?
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