DR WHO COMPLETE SPECIALS (DVD Review) - 19/1/10

So David Tennant's tenure on new Who comes to an end with the last few years coming full circle. I watched each episode as it aired and hated every single one - But the funny thing is watching it all a second time round on DVD I thoroughly enjoyed it all - Noticing a lot more this time around as well. Waiting for the obvious boxset release also had the advantage of extra snazzy Special Features on the last 2 discs.

DISC 1: "The Next Doctor" follows the return of the Cybermen as they tamper in the Victorian Industrial Revolution and a mysterious figure known as the Doctor with his companion Rosita get help from another "Doctor" to fend off their plans. You also get the full Dr Who Confidential for this Special and also the 'Dr Who At The Proms' feature as well.

DISC 2: See's the Doctor travelling by London Bus to "The Planet Of The Dead" and facing an alien horde of flying beasties, a couple of large flys and a motley group of stragglers left on the bus. UNIT gets a turn and also a laugh! Again followed by the full Confidential episode once more.

DISC 3: "The Waters Of Mars" is a real turning point for the show and sees the Doctor go off the rails in this dark & moody episode. Again Confidential follows on.

DISCS 4 & 5: End David Tennant's run with 'The End Of Time' Parts 1 & 2 packed with numerous Video Diaries, Deleted Scenes, Christmas Idents for the BBC and both the final Tennant Confidential Episodes. These are the episodes where you come to realise that regeneration really is the death of the previous Doctor and that a new man walks away.

A smashing cover inside the slipcase has the Doctor one side with the heroes and the Master the other side with the villains - Even the outer case has a picture of the Doctor with his back to the camera walking away as he is leaving!

POPCORN RATING:

WATCHMEN {Ultimate} (DVD Review) - 12/1/10

I knew the company behind "Watchmen" would attempt to wring every penny they could out of the public with their usual ploys and they kicked that off with the release of 'Tales Of The Black Freighter' and then strung it out over a year with the 2-disc Motion Comic release, single disc release, the double disc set then followed with the Director's Cut and the ensuing Blu-Ray releases - Knowing full well a FINAL set (Maybe?) was due to be released with the animated footage put back in - So I waited. Along trundles the ULTIMATE Set with 5 discs and it's difficult where to start? For possibly the greatest graphic novel ever it's diversions about time translated to the screen seemed incredibly slow as the story spun out little by little but three and a half hours seemed to fly by? I can't say I finished watching the film elated but more of a sense of disappointment. Swathes of storyline have gone and to me it just did not gel at all plus the change in the ending seemed pointless - The insertion of the animated footage lent nothing to the story really and the animation itself was atrocious. Things did not bode well - But the second disc had the pseudo-documentary 'Under The Hood' on it which watched in conjunction with the 'Watchmen' fills in a number of back points. A large selection of background Featurettes really does put a greater perspective on the whole of the Production process. Disc 3 is a bit of a piss-take as it's a digital copy of the Theatrical Version of the film which expires after a year and only ships with the initial print run. Discs 4 & 5 comprise the complete Animated Motion Comic all 12 chapters spread over 3 hours and it really is like watching the book - This I found a much more rewarding experience. The cover to the boxset is appalling but the outside fold-out and the further inside fold-out is pretty good - This houses the first three discs whilst the Animated Motion Comic comes in a separate 2-disc case. Amongst the hogwash I see everything but Alan Moore who has aspired to stand by his word and avoid all of the Hollywood Hoo-Haa: Nowhere in titles written or otherwise does his name appear apart from a couple of brief mentions in the Making-Offs - Mr Moore I salute you!

POPCORN RATING:

THE FINAL DESTINATION (DVD Review) - 7/1/10

Having missed this at the flicks a few months back when it was out I didn't worry as I knew I would buy it on DVD when available to stick on the shelf with the other three. Again stating 'the' in the title does not mean the series is finished as is the case with "The Final Destination" as it's the same story in a different setting, unless of course you set it in a different era or a different location it's starting to get tired. It gets a FIVE popcorn rating for the sheer cheese & inventiveness of the death scenes plus the constant feeling that something is going to happen - Then it doesn't - Then it does - Madness! Obviously this fourth outing ends up in 3-D with all manner of things poking out of the screen - So with this set you get Disc One with the standard version of the film & Special Features (Only Deleted Scenes & a Trailer) and Disc Two has the 3-D version of the film with two sets of 3-D glasses. This is where the piss-take begins: In desperation to sell the Blu-Ray Format increasingly most Special Features appear on the Blu-Ray version with two different endings, featurettes and so forth. I say you Production Company Suits are WANKERS! Just as I don't double-dip in buying the same product over & over again - I will not be forced into buying another Format so you can double the price of the discs and end up buying the same stuff again.

Death visits a Speedway this time around and pulps a whole crowd of people - Dull, ignorant individuals get offed in a variety of ways and there isn't a happy ending as usual!

POPCORN RATING:

FAMILY GUY: SOMETHING, SOMETHING, SOMETHING DARK SIDE (DVD Review) - 7/1/10

I have added this to my own DVD Collection so obviously it has a Popcorn Rating of FIVE. So Family Guy continues with it's pisstake of the Star Wars Trilogy and the Second in the series. Released direct to DVD before viewing on TV this even has a Digital Copy you can download and the usual pile of excellent Special Features. The pastiche is totally spot-on and a couple of moments I wet myself with laughter. What can you say? It's just having to wait until the next installment is available to buy on DVD. Current title for 'Return Of The Jedi' is "I Have A Bad Feeling About This" currently going through Production and a table-read through clip is also on this disc.