DVD Review: The Great Mouse Detective

Easily one of the most underrated films in the vast library of Disney films, The Great Mouse Detective delivers on all ffronts: ented rtainemnt, action and animation.

Basil is a famous British detective who finds his old nemesis Dr. Ratigan kidnapping an inventor. Along with his new assiistant Dawson and the inventor's duaghter and his trusty dog Toby, he'll have to stop Ratigan...before it's too late!

Obviously, the film stars mice and the 1986 Disney artists used a lot of creativity here, making this micey world seem very real and using inventive objects to use as halls and stools. However, the main standout has to be Vincient Price as Ratigan. The master of fright delights as the nemesis, singing and giving him an edge that Glen Keane's brilliant animation complements perfectly.

It may not be the Lion King, but The Great Mouse Detective delivers as an enetertaining slice of Disney and mouse cinema.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10 or A-

SYS

DVD Review: Everybody's Fine

RObert De Niro is power in a body. It's a shame then to see him in a fiulm like this where he has to be in a film tailor made for those 70 year olds wanting to smile. These films aren't always bad, but they are the death-toll for an old actor's career.

Robert plays Frank Goode, a man who hasen't seen his kids in a while. One by one, he surprises each one with a visit and learns that, despite thier assurance, each of the children's lives are falling apart.

All of the cast seem to be very stiff but Robert once again gives a fine performance. The film is much deeper than the commercials make it out to be and it at least has the guts to be a little sadder than these films usually go. With Robert doing a fine job, the film just barely rises from the mediocore pile.

Rating: 6 out of 10 or C+

SYS

2 Pieces of Cover Art

Companies are starting to release their fall films to DVD and Blu-Ray. I've been able to get these 2 movies cover art. Enjoy!




SYS

The Hangover of Sales

The years biggest comedy is the 1# DVD in America for 2 weeks in a row. Now that's something! And to think, like The Blind Side, we thought the film woud bomb!

SYS

DVD Review: Deck The Halls

Critics can be stupid. I mean, they hate all kinds of films that are actually a ton of fun (i.e. Lnd of the Lost). This film is a prime example of that. A stupid film that's a lot of fun.

Steve Finch (Mathew Broderick) is the Christmas guy around town, but Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito) has moved in and decides to be seen from space. How? By hanging up more ligths than anyone, thus ruining Steve's Christmas guy crown. Wow!

Danny is always fun to watch and here is no exception. He has a nice touch around him that makes him likeable yet an enemy. Mathew Borderick is great as Steve, brings a sensibility to the character. There's also a ton of good gags abounding in this film that really are fun to watch. The film as a whole ain't a classic, but it is a blast anyway.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10 or B+

SYS

DVD Reivew: The Santa Clause 3-Pack

Wow. Tim Allen has no carrer right now and these films he kept going back to milk can be blamed for it. Tim was great in the first one, Ok in the second and downright abysmal in the third one. Like a ball rolling down a hill, the trilogy gets worse and worse as time goes by.

Santa Clause: The ifrst one, where a man kills Santa and must fill in for the legend. This film, along with Elf and A Christmas Story, remain among the funniest in the history of X-Mas films nad Tim actually odes well here. It makes you very sad that they milked the film afterward.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 or A-

Santa Clause 2: Santa is fully with his job now, but he has to get a wife!! OH NO! To take his place, a toy Santa is made. But he has other plans for the North Pole...

This one is alright, but kind of pointless. Too many potty jokes ruin it...though there are some nice gags and touching moments.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 or C+

Snata Clause 3: Santa and his wife are having a Snata Jr. soon but Jack Frost (Martin Short) dosen't helpt things by taking over Christmas.

Not even Martin Short can take this crudpile out of the sewer. This is one of the worst films of 2006 and a bad film period. Tim Allen can't act no more and there's no good gags whatsoever. What a waste of Alan Arkin.

Rating: 4.1 out of 10 or D

SYS

DVD Reivew: Mickey's Christmas Carol

Mickey Mouse holds a dear place in my heart. So does this special. This was my first encounter with Charles Dickens classic tale and remains one of my favorite adaptations of the aforementioned tale.

The choice of spirits here are really creative and help the flow of the story indefenitly. Scrooge was a new character here and really does well. Mickey Cratchit is another nice choice and when he goes up to Tiny Tim's grave...your heart melts. The animators just make you flat-out cry. It's breathtaking I kid you not.

Disney really did well here and I can see why it has become a Christmas tradition for many. It's a brilliant portrayl of A CHristmas Carol and I hope many could follow this shows example. Superb.

Rating: A or 9.0 out of 10

SYS

DVD Review: Galaxy Quest

With a new Star Trek movie all on DVD & Blu-Ray, it seems mildly appropriate to look at the greatest Star Trek spoof: Galaxy Quest.

In the spoof, Galaxy Quest is a TV show that has been off the air for a while, but only 1 star is liking the fame they get: Jason Nesmith (TIm ALlen). However, when an actualy alien race invades, it's up to the whole cast to save the day.

This whole darn thing feels like some real life object due to it's frightningly real portrayl of actors and rabin fans. It's wonderful and the fact that the fans save the day in the end is really brilliant.

I can't imagine no Star Trek fan not enjoying this film thanks to all the fun jokes at Star Trek (the rocking of the ship had me on the floor) and it really is a clever fun ride.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 or B+

SYS

DVD Review: Jack Frost

Rankin Bass may not be known by name, but their specials are. Rudolph...Santa Clause Is COming To Town.... The Little Drummer Boy...all of these classics and more are created by this great company. Jack Frost is actually a bit of a famous one as well. Though no masterpiece, it's still a fun time.

This special is about the famous Jack Frost, who here is a human spirit who brings chill and snow to the world. He's soon falls in love, though, and becomes a human. Danger is lurking though, and his true love is kidnapped by an evil king. Now he must save her and winter forever.

This is one that does have a nice Christmas overtone to it, though X-mas isn't mentioned. The narrator (a gorundhog) is clever and the special has a nice imagination for bringing the beloved character to life. It also never wears out it's welcome and feels like it needs an hour to tell it's story.

Rankin-Bass may have made a few duds over their career, but this sure isn't one of them. Jack Frost is a delight for all ages and really makes Christmas come to life.

Rating: B+ or 8.3 out of 10

SYS

Deathly Good Image

Above is th 1st image from Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1. Some footage will be avilable on the DVD/Blu-Ray Tuesday.

Also, Harry Potter will be naked in the film. And in unrelated news, the first part will be R. Wonder why?

SYS

DVD Review: I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown

This may be in the middle road for the 50 Peanuts specials created. It dosen't hit the masterpice status of A Charlie Brown Christmas, but it isn't as abd as Play It Again, Charlie Brown. Overall, it' alright, but defenitly overstays it's welcome.

This time around, Rerun Van Pelt wants a dog more than anything for Christmas. However, Lucy convinces him a dog is nothing but trouble. But when Snoopy's brother, Spike, comes to town, Rerun see's an oppurtunity to good to resist!

I love Rerun, but he dosen't give much flair to this one. Like the special itself, he just isn't that compelling to sustain the entire episode. Perhaps a Charlie Brown sub-plot should have been added. However, there are many good bits, notably Rerun evaluating his siblings.

Again, not the worst Charlie Brown special in the book, but nothing to get all excited about. A decent outing, though a bit too long.

SYS

Psssst...We Hit 50 posts!!!

ALRIGHT!!! WE JUST HIT 50 POSTS!!!! This is very exciting and I bet we're the fastest to that record. We hit 50 posts in 8 days. I'm very happy. But we're not slowing down at all! In fact, Friday we'll have a new column called The Y Bomb. Come back Friday for full details.

Of course, read our 18 reviews for comprehensive coverage on the latest DVD's, Blu-Ray's, films and TV. Thanks y'all.

SYS

DVD Review: Cars

Cars is one of PIXAR's most unloved films, solely because it's probably only enjoyed by people living it rural, like me. The film is about a race car named Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) who comes into the town of Radiater Springs and learns about the good life while falling in love with Sally (Bonnie Hunt).


This is one touching and funny film. True, it's no Up or Ratatouille, but it's still one of their most funny films ever, thanks to Larry th Cable Guy as Mater. The world here is quite open for a sequel, which they will give the film in 2011 (the title is Cars: World Gran Prix).

The animation is stunning, even by today's standards. This is one of the best animated films ever and another notable film from PIXAR's catalouge (all of their film's are notable actually).

Rating: A- or 8.8 out of 10

SYS

TV Review: Merry Madagascar

This is one of those times where TV ratings baffle me. Besides one character *possibly* being durink, I cannot imagine why this isn't G. Other than that minor quibble, there isn't much to be said about Merry Madagascar except that it's alright.

You have likely seen the two Madagascar films. This takes place between the two, when they hurt Santa Clause (GASP!!) , give him amnesia, and then have to save Christmas. A bit cliche' of a plot? Oh yes. This whole thing has been done before. But at least it's a little cute.

The whole cast has returned, including Ben Stiller, though not Sacha Baron Choen (Bruno). There is a few very funny things, like a claustrobia line, Santa's gifts to the 4 main animals and the Russian reidneer (They belong to Santa) and their war with the penguins. Some good stuff there. It's way better than the made for money only second Madagascar, so maybe this is a step in the right direction for the franchise which will become a trilogy in 2012.

Rating: B or 7.3 out of 10

SYS

Note: You can see this again on December 11, 2009 or buy it only at Wal-Mart on DVD.

Blu-Ray Review: Up

PIXAR is probably the greatest company in the world solely because of the way they push boundaries (of course, 10 masterpieces don't hurt either). This time, an old man named Carl Fredrickson (Ed Asner) decides to tie balloons to his house, only to find an asian boy scout trapped to his house. They arrive in South America, only to find a "talking" dog there and a female peacock who they name Kevin. Soon, an evil mastermind turns out to be behind a terrorfying truth in the jungle and Carl must stop him.

The best part about the film is that it has such emotion...you must be made of stone if your not crying in the first 10 minutes when Carl's wife dies. Strangely, this is also PIXAR's funniest film to date, besides being their saddest. I felt overjoyed when Dug the Dog was speaking.. SQUIRELL!!.. because he's very random. The villain, Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), is also fun, at first seemingly just a nice guy and then becomes someone truly evil.

There is so much more that I could say about the film (the animation is perfect), but I think you need to discover the rest of the film on your own. Just as a note, this iflm has a short film on it, Partly Cloudy and a new short only on DVD and Blu-Ray: Dug's Special Mission.

Rating: A or 9.7 out of 10

SYS

Reviews To Come

To ensure no confusion, we will have reviews to come in this section. I will update daily and every month will make a new post to show what reviews are coming. When a review is up, a hyperlink will get you to the review.


On our review calander:

*Up (Blu-Ray)
*Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen
*New Moon
*This Is It
*A Christmas Carol
*Star Trek (Blu-Ray)
*Gone With The Wind (Blu-Ray)
*Harry Potter 6
*Merry Madagascar
*Cars
*The Blind Side
*Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
*2012

*Planet 51
*Forest Gump: Saphire Collection Edition
*G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
*The Wizard of Oz
*A Charlie Brown Christmas
*Fantastic Mr. Fox
*X-Men Origins: Wolverine
*Land of the Lost
*Old Dogs
*A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
*Classic Holiday Favorites
*Miracle on 34th Street
*Jack Frost

More to come. Keep reading.

SYS (See You Soon)