WALLACE & GROMIT: A MATTER OF LOAF & DEATH (DVD Review) - 29/3/09

Recently shown at Christmas I must admit I did not really like this story - It wasn't in the previous vein of the preceding short films and came across rather dark. Then again it does have all the Wallace & Gromit subtle touches like the superb animation and techniques, the intensely detailed backgrounds and modelwork and of course the 'blink-and-you'll-miss-them' in-jokes and sight-gags. The DVD also has a nice localised feel to it with the Special Features in the form of "When Wallace Met Harvey" an advert feature for Harvey Nichols set in Bristol where Aardman is based. It also runs to a Commentary & Making Of with a Picture Gallery plus a Playable Game Demo and Trailers for Shaun The Sheep and it's spin-off Timmy Time (Unfortunately this production is REALLY aimed at children under 5 and the animation is pretty dreadful - Certainly not the quality of Shaun or W&G!)

Wallace & Gromit have set up a brand new Bakery at home. Thick as ever Wallace falls for the dubious charms of Piella Bakewell whilst as usual Gromit suspects something is not quite right? Throw in the usual film homages to numerous films and some quick fast action sequences to neatly tie up a pretty flawless 30 minutes (Apart from the script!)

YOUNG INDIANA JONES {Vol.1.Boxset} (DVD Review) - 16/3/09

George Lucas the memory-thief (Remember what he did to "Star Wars"?) does a similar hatchet job with the TV Series of "The Adventures Of Young Indiana Jones" cutting a swathe through these episodes and slicing out a main character completely as though his performance didn't matter at all! We get abrupt endings and an oddly aged Indy as the episodes have been hacked into chronological order. The dire first few episodes of this kiddie-lite fare attempt to inform but end up dreary, dull & boring. Glossing over any real violence it isn't until the final couple of discs that the real world intrudes, and yes; people do really bleed and do really die!

Where this 12-disc Boxset comes into it's own though is the extensive background features along the lines of the History Channel or National Geographic delving into history in all it's aspects and genuinely informing the viewer about historical events and people. Forget about the trite trick of Indy coincidentally meeting most of the famous figures throughout the history of the late 1800s onwards as it will soon be a moot point as we travel into the War Years in Boxset 2.

The Boxset folds out and has a listing of the episodes and features on the packaging, as well as then folding up into a nice cardboard slipcase designed like Indy's diary.

BORG WAR (DVD Review) - 22/3/09

With the current lack of 'Official' Star Trek product this work caught my eye on one of my trawls across the web. Taking elements from a couple of video games we get a whole new story set in the Trek universe and if you can get over the initial jerky style from the gameplay your in for a treat! Apart from the odd sound-out and jump cut from scene-to-scene this is an amusing package well put together. Again no profit was made so it's distribution meets the criteria of the 'Official' Licensee. You get sent a nicely printed disc which plays multi-region with Dolby 5.1. Sound and Full Resolution with Chapter Menus & a Theatrical Trailer and even some Special Features with Game Mode Info & some Bloopers - Definitely check out the two Bloopers - Especially the wry Klingon take on YMCA!

If you head over to the Website you can also download a cover to print out for your DVD case and you could even download the current Wallpaper and print it on the reverse of your cover (Like I did) for that added effect. Now all we need is someone to re-do a new story with the live action footage from various other Star Trek games?

http://www.borgwarmovie.org/

Contact: info@borgwarmovie.com

STAR TREK: OF GODS & MEN (DVD Review) - 15/3/09

I had heard whispers about this for awhile and imagine my surprise when I found out that a Fan Film was available on DVD. Obviously due to copyright reasons this is a 'DVD SCREENER - NOT FOR SALE OR RENTAL' but you can get a copy FREE from Renegade Studios through their website by purchasing something from the store which I duely did. Not only is the film & production quality excellent the story comes over as a classic Trek episode extremely well. The top notch SFX and all the background to the whole production is superb. This also follows onto the DVD with the same high quality - A cellophane wrapped DVD case with a very well printed cover and inside a lengthy fold-out booklet with pictures of the cast and crew rundown. The DVD also plays on my Region 2 player in the UK so presumably the disc is Multi-Region? We also get Special Features in the form of 2 Trailers and an 80 Picture Photo Gallery.

It's also amazing just how many familiar faces from previous Star Trek incarnations pop up and the Trek references will have your head spinning. The story starts a few years after Kirk's death and involves the meeting of characters from the past who end up on a collision course that fragments the current timeline to a different future. About a hour into the film I actually had a tear in my eye so what better recommendation do you need? It's not everyday a Fan Film can reduce you to tears, but seeing such well loved characters on the screen again and older; brings a lot of this all full circle once more. A definite triumph for all involved!

http://www.startrekofgodsandmen.com/

The Production Studio can be contacted at:

Renegade Studios,Inc

1482 East Valley Rd#233

Santa Barbara, CA 93108

US