24: REDEMPTION (DVD Review) - 30/11/08

A lot of dramatic TV series find it hard to keep the project 'on the boil' but consistently the nail-biting intrigue of "24" has always hit it's high points! With this recently showing in the UK & the States it rattles out onto DVD as a 2-disc and single disc version literally within days. This two disc set has the Broadcast Feature Version with a quick rundown Special Feature of 24 Season 6 in 4 minutes and to whet your appetite even further a sneak peek at 24 Season 7 - Which I cannot go into details about - But let me assure you; it certainly will not let you down after previous Season's action & labyrinthine plots & second guesses. After the shattering conclusion to 24 Season 6 Jack Bauer has left the States and after much travelling end's up in Africa hoping to find some sort of redemption. Highlighting the very real problem of child soldiers throughout the world we get a scenario where Jack is helping out an old friend (From some sort of Special Forces background) at an orphanage for children. Cue another background thread that has a high up political figure funding this war and him having some loose threads eliminated whilst the new President is being inaugurated. Veiled machinations behind the scenes cause a good man to lose his life and another to get caught in a political face-saving mess. Due to the Writer's strike in the US this TV film is a stop gap between Seasons 6 & 7 and segues nicely into the overall picture of the show. It also does not pull any punches over the US Foreign Policy and the fact that nothing is black or white but shades of grey.

Disc Two has the extended version of 24 Redemption on it with a Commentary and 2 Featurettes - A making of and a documentary.

AMERICAN DAD {Seasons 1-3 Complete} (DVD Review) - 22/11/08

Having just finished the current season of Family Guy I remembered that Mr. Periwinkle had recommended to me American Dad by the same people. Oh Seth MacFarlane I love you! What other animated show could have me literally crying tears of laughter at the end of the episode and still laughing as the credits roll. In fact with a typical Star Trek reference this is Family Guy - The Next Generation and just as good on par with it's original. Sadly after plowing through all 3 series I now have to wait another year before the next release - Nnnnnn00000000000!!!! As with Family Guy the episodes are all mismatched and labelled as Volumes instead of Seasons with a handful of episodes from one and a pile from another - As long as I get to watch them all I don't care! Much like Family Guy but treading it's own path we get bigoted Stan a CIA Agent heading the household with Francine his lovable wife, right-on Hayley his daughter a left-wing activist, dopey Steve his youngest son and followed up with Klaus an East German who had his brain put into a goldfish in a CIA experiment gone wrong & Roger the Area 51 alien escapee whose a real bitch and wears a lot of wigs. Can't really describe it any further as it's as wild as Family Guy but a lot more of a political slant attached to it.

These are the front covers on Volume 2 and American Dad also lists the episodes clearly on the back covers (as below) much like the later seasons of Family Guy has done.

Throw in a package of Commentaries under the Special Features, Trailers & Animatics. Plus some how to draw articles and a few Featurettes and you can also round it off with another 3 episodes (at least) in Deleted/Extended Scenes across the 9 Disc Boxset. With Season 4 in the can and currently showing on TV & with the renewal for Season 5 confirmed, American Dad goes from strength to strength.

SHAUN THE SHEEP {1st. Season} (DVD Review) - 18/11/08

The five DVD cases pictured are the "Shaun The Sheep" individual releases:

Of course knowing there would be a Boxset for these I have waited over a year to finally now get hold of one released in time for Christmas and what a piss-take it is! It was bad enough seeing the individual DVD releases with about 40 minutes per disc and maybe a slight Special Feature retailing for around £12 to £15. Buying the Boxset turns out to be cheaper but all it is is the same DVD releases stuck in a fold-out case with no extra Special Features. I was at least expecting some in depth insightful making of type featurettes - But bugger all! A total money-making exercise across the last year or so. So enough moaning - Even without some decent back-up this is still a classic series. The detail so fondly seen in Wallace & Gromit is all lovingly detailed here and it shows. The 40 episodes in this set comprise the complete first season on 5 discs as Shaun and his pals go wild in a variety of adventures and general scrapes. I defy anyone to not laugh at some of this fun? Plus we have the return of Wallace & Gromit in "A Matter Of Loave & Death" this Christmas with it's first showing on TV - So a Christmas goody bag for everyone!

FUTURAMA: BENDER'S GAME (DVD Review) - 18/11/08

With the release of the third Futurama film in the shape of "Bender's Game" and the fourth to follow in Feb 2009 I must say this was a big disappointment. Like watching 87 minutes of a dull animated film with zero laughs all the characters are in place as we trudge through a tired re-run of Lord Of The Rings crossed with Dungeons & Dragons amidst an evil plot by scheming Mom involving dark matter. A couple of minor points hit the spot but all-in-all pretty much a catastrophe with a large bulk of tired padding in the so-called Special Features. At least the initial U.S. release come's with a nice cardboard slipcase and fold-out sleeve featuring full character art and you also get a free set of postcards as well.

FAMILY GUY {7th. Season} (DVD Review) - 18/11/08

As far as I'm concerned these can't come out quickly enough on DVD! Of course the episode running list is totally shot as the U.S. Version is totally different from the U.K. one. But it's a sheer joy to be able to sit down and laugh at all the crazy stuff going on in the Family Guy world, a bit like looking into the mirror and watching the world's reflection looking back. The best treat of all on this Boxset is the extended "Deleted Scenes" which put even more of the episode's into perspective - Unfortunately the rest is mostly Seth MacFarlane padding out the Special Features. Only 12 episodes in this set but all pure gold! [and even I was offended this Season . . . ]

SHREK THE HALLS (DVD Review) - 4/11/08

I saw this last Christmas 2007 and wondered when it would be released on DVD? At first I thought it might be a Special Feature on the 'Shrek The Third' DVD but that came and went with no word? Now suddenly 11 months later it's out - Full price £7.99p. The cynical among you out there (Me included!) would say it's no coincidence that it is on the shelves just in time for this Christmas! A 27 minute animated feature with the original voice cast and a lot of duff padding with pointless Special Features. It's a typical Shrek piece with some light moments, dark moments & some laughs. Certainly worth adding to the rest of my Shrek collection before they release 'Shrek Goes Forth' followed by Shrek 5 and the spin-off Puss-In-Boots film due 2009/2011?

Shrek has no idea what Christmas is? So with his book 'Christmas For Village Idiots' and Donkey & the gang in tow chaos inevitably follows as the 'true' meaning (Somewhat?) of Christmas gets shown Shrek, Donkey & Puss style!

TROPIC THUNDER Film Review - 2/11/08

After dire movie 'The Heartbreak Kid' I avoided Ben Stiller for awhile and really should have known better with "Tropic Thunder" being written & directed by him. As a tapestry of events it's the sum of it's parts as the threads of the script come apart - So more of a travesty than anything else. So it's crap - Sorry C.R.A.P. (Can't Really Assess Production) a fitting acronym. Then suddenly the light dawned and I saw it in a different light: If you watch 'The Office' or 'Extras' which I find excruciating to watch mainly because it's self-absorbed people being horribly rude & unpleasant to each other I looked at Ben Stiller's back-catalogue of films. Much of his 'humour' which can be hit and miss is along the same lines - I like 'Something About Mary' but some of his other work is dross. So if you go on percentage it will be 3 crap films to 1 good one! You really cannot fault any of the actors for their performances they really are on the top of the game here - Which just goes to show that even in a bad film the quality of the acting can be top notch but the script rubbish - Thanks Ben!

A group of self-absorbed self-obsessed actors foul up the running of their latest film and the production is threatened with closure - The Director in a fit of madness (Or genius?) sticks the cast in the middle of the jungle and let's them get on with it. Thinking they are following a script the cast get mistaken for real troops by the local bandits running a heroin operation. Cue hilarity - I think I laughed about three times - So not a great gag rate!