Archive for the ‘Fantasy’ Category
April 26th, 2009 | 
Author: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Full Screen Edition
This dual layer edition of the colorful classic with a snappy soundtrack. Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 02/12/2008 Starring: Dick Van Dyke Gert Frobe Run time: 145 minutes Rating: G
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Imaginative and great music
My daughter loves watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The musical numbers and the fantastical nature of the movie are perfect for her age (4). I was struck by how mean Dick Van Dyke’s character is at first, but that’s not something my daughter notices.
5 Stars exellent
Everything was as promised. I took delivery in less than a week. Good price. Very happy.
5 Stars Great Fun
This is a great movie for the whole family. Great humor and acting talent.
Really enjoyed watching this one.
5 Stars Timeless
I saw this movie when I was a kid. I am now 47, and I got it for my Brother’s kids. They loved it. It it a timeless family classic.
5 Stars Lots of bang left in this classic
My Nieces LOVE this movie and whats not to like.
Good clean wholesome entertainment. It was one of my favorites as a kid which makes it a classic in my book!
Barbie™ and Teresa™ tell us the fairy tale story of Liana™ and Alexa™ best friends who shared everything including their love of music. One day their simple lives change when they are given an enchanted mirror and befriend the girl trapped inside! To save their new friend Liana™ and Alexa™ embark on a dangerous journey to the hidden Diamond Castle that will put their friendship to the test. But through the power of song and with the companionship of two adorable puppies the girls face their challenges together and learn that friendship is the true treasure. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating:?NR UPC:?025195015929 Manufacturer No:?63101989
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Mature themes
My daughter is 3 yrs old and she is really into Barbie. We have lots of dolls, dress up things, etc.. I purchased the Diamond Castle dolls as a Crhistmas present. We were not familiar with the story, we just thought the dolls were pretty and they were on sale. So, we saw the DVD and purchased it. Like other reviewers here, I agree that there are mature themes in this movie that I wasn’t expecting. When you watch a movie made for a younger audience you don’t want to see characters like the “prince twins” in this movie. As an adult, I understood the scene where a woman threw a shoe at them. My 3 yr old didn’t understand it. She just enjoyed the music. She doesn’t know what “backstabbing friend” means. There is no need for that in this movie. They could have presented this in a more innocent way. My husband thinks she is too young for Barbie but face it - this is the age group that finds these movies interesting. One more thing, my daughter kept asking, “When are we going to see the Diamond Castle?” Good question. It took quite a long time to get to that part. I have a better question: why are the evil characters always brunettes?????? Aaaagghh!!!
5 Stars Great Great Great!1
My kids absolutly love this movie. It is so cute. I found myself watching it too.
5 Stars My daughter love it!
It was a Christmas gift for my 5 years old daughter and she loves it!.
Great movie with a very good message about friendship.
5 Stars My kids love this.
I have two girls, 4, and 6, and they absolutely adore this movie. Barbie movies are great because of the way that they portray moral dilemas. And you get a doll to play with that relates. I see my girls playing with their barbies like they are in the diamond castle, and its just too cute!
5 Stars Very satisfied
Our girls were so happy to get this DVD and they watched it immediately!
It was in perfect condition.
When young ofelia & her mother go to live with her new stepfather on a rural military outpost she finds herself in a world of unimaginable cruelty. Soon ofelia finds the creatures of her imagination in which she used to escape have become a reality & she must battle them to save her mother & herself. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 09/30/2008 Run time: 119 minutes Rating: R
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Awesome
I ordered this product and 2 days later it was in my mailbox!! I live across the country and that was the fastest delivery ever!!
5 Stars Visually beautiful
The movie is visually beautiful, in contrast to the brutality of the time. Most reviewers have missed some of the symbolism of the movie, and that is starvation of the people at the time. And having an uncle who lived through the times, that was his one everlasting memory (other than the fighting) STARVATION which the movies touches.
5 Stars This beautifully rendered film takes place in 1944 Spain
Centering around a lonely 12-year old girl named Ofelia with a sickly preger mother, a sadistically cruel stepfather, and a kindly handmaiden–Ofelia escapes into a fairytale world of her imagination. Guided by a fairy she discovers an ancient, crumbling labyrinth guarded by a faun who discloses her true destiny–she is Princess Moanna–but to prove herself she must complete three increasingly challenging and dangerous tasks; The tasks have to be completed before the full moon.
The first task is to revitalize a dying fig tree. Ofelia must place three stones inside the mouth of a giant toad and retrieve a golden key. Though Ofelia completes this task, she must now deal with her mother’s anger when she ruins her beautiful new dress in the process. Upon returning with the golden key, the faun instructs her to use the key inside the realm of the Pale Man. But be warned! Do not eat or drink anything from the banquet table. Nada! Nothing! Of course, Ofelia gives in to the temptation and eats from the Pale Man’s table with disastrous results. Ofelia returns to an angered faun, the fighting between Captain Vidal (her stepfather) and the rebel forces intensifies while her mother becomes sicker.
Is Ofelia really Princess Moanna? Will she be able to save her mother? The cast was not only great but drew you completely into the story, and kept your interest throughout the film. You’ll actually care what happens to them. There is plenty of action as well as tense moments throughout the film, and you’ll just have to watch to find out what happens next. I will say you’re never told for sure whether what’s happening to Ofelia is real or if she has an overactive imagination. Is it really happening or is she using fairytales to distort the reality of horrors around her. The film leave this entirely up to the person watching the movie.
5 Stars A Haunting Tale of Lost Innocence and Brutality
Billed as a “fairy tale for adults,” del Toro’s brilliant depiction of the brutal aftermath of the Spanish Civil War through a fantastical tale of fauns, quests, and a lost princess is far more moving than a straightforward account could ever be. Bookish, creative Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) finds herself at a remote military outpost when her pregnant mother marries the cruel commander, Captain Vidal. Ofelia finds herself amidst men who don’t hesitate to torture and kill and rebels who are willing to sacrifice their own lives for freedom. The Captain sees Ofelia as a disposable appendage of her mother, and her mother, suffering from pregnancy complications, cannot care for her. As Ofelia meet a insect-like fairy and a faun (Pan, in the English translation), she descends into a fantastical world that is every bit as dark as the one in the outpost.
Through these two parallel worlds, del Toro manages to offer hope where there is none, and freedom in an unescapable situation. The relationship between the Captain’s servant Mercedes (Maribel Verdu, of Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Ofelia is poignant as the two find refuge in a surrogate mother/daughter bond. The chemistry between the two actresses is palpable and believable; without it, the connection between the real and the fantasy worlds would not have succeeded.
Viewers who like more traditional methods of storytelling will likely be disappointed, as this film is darkly bizarre, with much ambiguity. Those who like unusual foreign films (and don’t mind reading subtitles) will embrace this twisted tale of a child abandoned in an unforgiving world.
– Debbie Lee Wesselmann
5 Stars 4 stars out of 4
The Bottom Line:
A movie that tells two fascinating stories equally well, with invention and creativity and great performances (Sergi Lopez’s Vidal has to go on a list of all-time villainous villains) and never a dull moment, Pan’s Labyrinth is easily one of the best movies to come out in the last decade and also easily one of my favorite films.
The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King Platinum Series Special Extended Edition
The greatest trilogy in film history, presented in the most ambitious sets in DVD history, comes to a grand conclusion with the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Not only is the third and final installment of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien the longest of the three, but a full 50 minutes of new material pushes the running time to a whopping 4 hours and 10 minutes. The new scenes are welcome, and the bonus features maintain the high bar set by the first two films, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.
What’s New?
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One of the scenes cut from the theatrical release but included here, the resolution of the Saruman storyline, generated a lot of publicity when the movie opened, as actor Christopher Lee complained in the press about losing his only appearance. It’s an excellent scene, one Jackson calls “pure Tolkien,” and provides better context for Pippin to find the wizard’s palantir in the water, but it’s not critical to the film. In fact, “valuable but not critical” might sum up the ROTK extended edition. It’s evident that Jackson made the right cuts for the theatrical run, but the extra material provides depth and ties up a number of loose ends, and for those sorry to see the trilogy end (and who isn’t?) it’s a welcome chance to spend another hour in Middle-earth. Some choice moments are Gandalf’s (Ian McKellen) confrontation with the Witch King (we find out what happened to the wizard’s staff), the chilling Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor, and Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) being mistaken for Orc soldiers. We get to see more of ?owyn (Miranda Otto), both with Aragorn and on the battlefield, even fighting the hideously deformed Orc lieutenant, Gothmog. We also see her in one of the most anticipated new scenes, the Houses of Healing after the battle of the Pelennor Fields. It doesn’t present Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) as a savior as the book did, but it shows the initial meeting between ?owyn and Faramir (David Wenham), a relationship that received only a meaningful glance in the theatrical cut.
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If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson’s marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do. |
And for those who complained, no, there are no new endings, not even the scouring of the Shire, which many fans were hoping to see. Nor is there a scene of Denethor (John Noble) with the palantir, which would have better explained both his foresight and his madness. As Jackson notes, when cuts are made, the secondary characters are the first to go, so there is a new scene of Aragorn finding the palantir in Denethor’s robes. Another big difference is Aragorn’s confrontation with the King of the Dead. In the theatrical version, we didn’t know whether the King had accepted Aragorn’s offer when the pirate ships pulled into the harbor; here Jackson assumes that viewers have already experienced that tension, and instead has the army of the dead join the battle in an earlier scene (an extended cameo for Jackson). One can debate which is more effective, but that’s why the film is available in both versions. If you feel like watching the relatively shorter version you saw in the theaters, you can. If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson’s marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do.
How Are the Bonus Features?
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To complete the experience, The Return of the King provides the same sprawling set of features as the previous extended editions: four commentary tracks, sharp picture and thrilling sound, and two discs of excellent documentary material far superior to the recycled material in the theatrical edition. Those who have listened to the seven hours of commentary for the first two extended editions may wonder if they need to hear more, but there was no commentary for the earlier ROTK DVD, so it’s still entertaining to hear Jackson break down the film (he says the beacon scene is one of his favorites), discuss differences from the book, point out cameos, and poke fun at himself and the extended-edition concept (”So this is the complete full strangulation, never seen before, here exclusively on DVD!”). The documentaries (some lasting 30 minutes or longer) are of their usual outstanding quality, and there’s a riveting storyboard/animatic sequence of the climactic scene, which includes a one-on-one battle between Aragorn and Sauron.
One DVD Set to Rule Them All
Peter Jackson’s trilogy has set the standard for fantasy films by adapting the Holy Grail of fantasy stories with a combination of fidelity to the original source and his own vision, supplemented by outstanding writing, near-perfect casting, glorious special effects, and evocative New Zealand locales. The extended editions without exception have set the standard for the DVD medium by providing a richer film experience that pulls the three films together and further embraces Tolkien’s world, a reference-quality home theater experience, and generous, intelligent, and engrossing bonus features. –David Horiuchi
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Don’t Miss Out!!!
This is the final movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy! If you have not watched these yet, you’re missing out on some spectacular things! I have seen the trilogy around ten times and it never gets old. With orcs, elves, rangers, wizards, kings, and dwarves, where can you go wrong?
Five star!
5 Stars My Precious!!
This is a truly spectacular film, and the Extended Edition is amazing. The additional scenes alone are worth the purchase — the Mouth of Sauron, a deleted Saruman scene, lots more Faramir, and several other details that add depth to the story.
And the special features definitely don’t disappoint! There are HOURS of behind-the-scenes material, and the audio commentaries are great (the cast commentary is my favorite — Dom Monaghan and Billy Boyd are hilarious!). All the extras make the Return of the King experience even more epic and enjoyable.
If you liked the theatrical release but were left wanting more, this is an awesome purchase.
5 Stars Great!
The product shipped quicker than I thought it would and I have enjoyed it. Condition was exactly as described by seller. Thanks a ton!
5 Stars Possibly the Greatest Film in History
I have seen both versions of this film and despite the legnth of both (3 hours,20 minutes for theatrical,4 hours,15 minutes for this version)I think this is one of the greatest achievments ever in ALL forms of art.The acting is outstanding and beautiful,as the hopeless mission to Mount Doom and the battle of Minas Tirith are brought near flawlessly from page to screen.Elijah Wood and Sean Astin portray Frodo and Sam with emotion and you feel as if they really are the characters.Another to look out for is Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn,who portrays him with power and presence,and I really was stunned he did not win an Oscar for his performance.The supporting cast is well used,particularly John Noble as the tragic,but deranged,Denethor.The score is sweeping and epic,fitting the battle sequences as well as the Journey to Mount Doom.The added sequences are great,among the best are the Mouth of Sauron sequence,and Saruman’s demise.Several scenes are added to the battles and Stairs of Cirith Ungol sequence.I hope that if they re-release this film they will use this extended edition,because I beleive this is the best version of the,in my opinion,best film ever made.Not for nothing did this film win 11 oscars.If you want an epic,complex,extremly moving,powerful study of courage and friendship,love and death,this is the film you want.And watch the end for the epic song “Into the West”
5 Stars Great movie
Great movie and great price to buy all 3 LOTR movies to get free shipping.
Studio: Media Blasters Inc. Release Date: 01/13/2009 Run time: 109 minutes Rating: Ur
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars typical but not at all bad
Don’t expect the classy style of such films like Suicide Club or Another Heaven. This is more Asian Anno-Noir (if that can be a description) that is meant to entertain with lots of (lots of) black-light hot glow red blood and cartoon style antics (which you gotta have with the idea of these mutations, so it works okay). And while I enjoyed the film, I wish I’d have rented first as I don’t think I will re-visit it enough to justify the purchase and shipping. I’m always leery of films that people put all these “OMG it’s the next best thing to…whatever” and all in caps and !! like they get paid by the keystroke……….so in this case as in any review………..beware. (I think they own stock or work for the supplier, otherwise they just breed and type lots). The film is shock-shlock and meant to be, so if you like that you should enjoy this—but—if you are pinching pennies at the moment, give it a rent before you buy to see if this is just quite one you’ll watch again very often.
3 Stars GORE, GORE AND MORE GORE BUT ALWAYS FUNNY
If you are looking for a serious movie, do not loose your time. TGP is basically a rip off ROBOCOP, MAD MAX, VERSUS, DIRTY HARRY and some other classics.
The story is simple and character development is somehow shallow but the cheap special effects (always gore oriented) are the real show.
This could probably would have been a terrific 3 D movie but it is fun anyway.
2 Stars Eihi Shiina is sexy and cool
This movie is often laugh out loud absurd. The first half actually isn’t too bad and by the end you’re more than ready for it to be finished.
If you’re a fan of Eihi Shiina you may enjoy it just to watch her strut around with a katana and be pretty flippin’ cool. As I said in the title she manages to be both sexy and stylish even in this ridiculous affair.
I would love to see Quentin Tarantino take Eihi Shiina and the basic character from the beginning of this movie and do something with it. Eihi Shiina could definitely be an action/gore queen with the right vehicle.
The movie does have a few cool scenes and some interesting composition at times.
Again, I didn’t hate it and I wouldn’t recommend it to non Eihi Shiina fans.
3 Stars Title Sums It All Up
I didn’t hate this movie but I didn’t love it either so it fits right in the middle of liking it. I know there are plenty of fans of this kind of flick and I was surprised actually I didn’t hate it. There were a few funny parts and some way over the top gory parts which kind of reminded me of watching anime from when I was younger. I didn’t know much about this film going in but I gathered from the title what the movie might be about. You can tell it is kind of lower budget but it really doesn’t matter because you will probably forget as soon as you see the sheer amount of gore and weird scenes this movie serves up. When I was watching the beginning and said to myself this looks kind of innocent than all of a sudden a guy head splits open and that was the end of thoughts like that. That was my first thought that this movie would fit its title wonderfully. The non stop gore fest came after that first gory scene but there were a few parts that I laughed at between the action which I think were commercials and it was all very strange but in a good way. Overall this was still a good watch and I enjoyed it but I just didn’t love it and I can pretty much bet this movie isn’t for everyone and some people will be more critical. I couldn’t recommend this movie to everyone but fans of this genre or over the top gore fest will love it as well.
5 Stars Cronenberg meets Miike on Speed!.
The title pretty much sums up what the film is all about. Depending on your taste, you will be either be delighted or disgusted by this but if you’re a gore hound than you’ll love it. When you start a film off with exploding heads, severed limbs that spray arterial blood like a garden hose and a chainsaw fight, you can be pretty sure that a film is going to be over-the-top and live up to the word gore in its name. If you’ve seen and liked Machine Girl then you should know that the same fx team also worked on Tokyo Gore Police, the film is kind of like a companion piece only it’s alot better. In Toykyo Gore Police, Japan’s police have been privatized and they are battling weird mutants known as “engineers” that are incredibly hard to destroy. Ruka (who naturally dresses as a schoolgirl and wields a katana) is one of the elite cops assigned to battle the engineers. There is actually a plot in Tokyo Gore Police and it has a few twists, but the movie is mainly interested in throwing as much blood and rubbery guts at the screen as possible. At one point there’s a huge pile of limbs in the road; why? So a car can drive into it of course.
It’s almost inevitable that the film will be compared to The Machine Girl, but other than the over-the-top gore they’re really not that much alike. Tokyo Gore Police has very little sense of humor other than some rather funny commercial bits (which were handled by Machine Girl director Noboru Iguchi). It’s a bit more gorier and more exploitative piece of work overall, still some viewers are probably going to laugh at just how over-the-top and ridiculous it gets, which is part of the fun. Tokyo Gore Police is essential viewing for anyone who loves gore or old-fashioned violent-as-hell non-CGI trashy low budget movies. It was definitely a cult classic, but be warned it was an extremely bizarre film with a couple of scenes that didn’t exactly make sense but then again you don’t watch a Japanese gore flick for it’s storyline. What else can I say this stuff was just brilliant, I highly recommend this and two thumbs up!………
Fans disappointed by the demise of the Stargate SG-1 television series after ten fruitful seasons will delight in The Ark of Truth, the first full-length movie to follow in the show’s wake. In fact, some will be more than pleased–they’ll be relieved. For not only does the 102-minute film offer an opportunity to enjoy the same likable characters, reliable effects work, superior writing, and other elements that made the series so appealing, but after season upon season in which viewers were left wondering how everything turned out, The Ark finally brings at least one cliffhanger to a conclusion: the storyline involving the villains known as the Ori, who dominated SG-1’s final two years. Our heroes (including Ben Browder as fearless leader Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, Amanda Tapping as the intrepid Lt. Col. Samantha Carter, Christopher Judge as the implacable alien Teal’c, Michael Shanks as the ever-resourceful Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Claudia Black as the irreverent Vala) have long known that the Ori are perhaps the most irresistible force they’ve ever encountered, in part because they are “ascended” beings who don’t exist in recognizable physical form (their spaceships do, and they’re huge). But now the team faces an even greater threat: the Ori have set their sights on good ol’ Planet Earth. That’s where the Ark comes in; if the good guys can just get their hands on it, they hope this ancient artifact will effectively put the big, bad Ori, their minions, and their entire religion (known as “Origin”) out of business. Of course, it ain’t easy. Both collectively and individually, the team will be severely tested, their task complicated not only by the Ori but by an arrogant, clueless government official whose meddling results in the return of the metallic, insect-like Replicators. There’s little doubt about how it will all turn out–after all, there’s at least one more movie already in the pipeline–but it’s all about the ride, and despite a few flaws (as was sometimes the case with the series, the script leans a bit too hard on exposition and techno babble), this one is lots of fun. Bonus features include commentary by writer-director Robert Cooper and others, a lengthy “making of,” and a helpful “prelude” to bring the uninitiated up to speed. –Sam Graham
Beyond Stargate - The Ark of Truth
 Stargate: Continuum |
 Stargate SG-1 - The Complete Series Collection |
 Stargate Atlantis - The Complete Fourth Season |
Stills from Stargate - The Ark of Truth (Click for larger image)
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User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Region-Warning for customers from Europe
Since I’ve seen this movie on dvd I can just tell you that I really love it, so I wanted to own it on BLU. Since there is no planned release in Germany and the Stargate movie BLU and SG-Continuum BLU were region free, I hoped it would be the same here. But it isn’t.
The Ark of Truth is region-A ONLY! German codebound players and Playstation 3 won’t play it at all. It would be nice from Amazon to include the Blu-Ray region code in future product descriptions.
4 Stars Great Wrap to the Series
I really like SG-1’s first (if you do not count the ORIGINAL Stargate movie, which was not really SG-1) foray into feature length films. The Ori story line was handled magnificently. I was a little disappointed that the ending (of the movie, not the whole storyline) was not bigger, but it was very well done.
3 Stars Good, but not great
This film is a worthy attempt to capture the ongoing saga of the Stargate SG-1 phenomena, however, it does not reach the height that Stargate Continuum did. It is still worthwhile science fiction and both employs and contains marvelous visual imagery, definately worth the special effects represented.
4 Stars Open the Ark
The ending of the “Stargate SG-1″ TV show left some threads dangling — for one thing, the Ori were still threatening the world with conversion or death.
Fortunately that particular thread is decisively tied up in the direct-to-DVD movie that followed: “Stargate: The Ark of Truth” While it doesn’t quite have the unique flavour of the TV series — and the Ark seems like a rather pat quickie solution — the movie does bring back all the favorite characters in a satisfactory ending.
“The Ark of Truth” is an Ancient device that brainwashes people — and SG-1 is searching for it, where they run into Vala’s ex-hubby Tomin (who ends up teaming up with them). But soon they have a lead on where the Ark might be, and head for Celestis in the hopes of finding a bloodless method of stopping the Ori once and for all.
Unfortunately they have a slew of new problems — Ori motherships are approaching Earth with the intent to convert or destroy, a nasty IOA rep has created and loosed a very familiar enemy on the Odyssey, and Vala’s malevolent daughter Adria has gained godlike power. Fortunately SG-1 has a powerful ally of their own.
Since “The Ark of Truth” is basically intended to wrap up loose ends, and as such they’re not quite as satisfying as the television show was. Unfortunately it sometimes feels rather rushed and has a somewhat out-of-the-blue solution (hello magic fix-all!), as well as a subplot involving ANOTHER superpowerful villain race that seems likely but a bit misplaced.
But as half of the series finales, it’s a solid piece of work — lots of action, space battles, mysterious artifacts, and a way bigger budget that a TV episode would ever have allowed. Fortunately that budget doesn’t mean it jettisons the intriguing twists (Adria has an unexpected new position) or the moral dilemmas raised by the Ark (and the question of fighting evil faux gods vs. their followers).
It also has excellent scripting: plot threads drawn from the TV series, “Star Trek” homages, witty dialogue (”Well, you don’t expect me to remember.” “With the fate of two galaxies hanging in the balance, yes, I expect you to remember the essential clue!”), and some nice quiet moments, such as Teal’c talking with Tomin about their bloodstained pasts.
And seeing the actors as their SG-1 characters is like putting on a comfortable old shoe. Amanda Tapping and Michael Shanks are suitably brilliant and courageous, and Ben Browder does a good strong, slightly quirky soldier. Christopher Judge gets to shine in as a powerful, wise warrior, and Black gets to be both funny (”I have broken every nail”) and emotional.
While it’s a bit rushed and contrived, “Stargate: The Ark of Truth” is a solid enough finale to the Ori storyline. Only half the ending to go.
4 Stars Old-school SG1
SG1 will never win major awards however it does deliver to its fan base which in the end is what it is all about. In this particular installment the Ori (the guys with snakes in their chests have been wiped out if you haven’t been keeping up) are regrouping for a major offensive and it is up to SG1 to take a stand against them.
Overall-Great for what it is a few good oneliners and our old friends the replicators even have a cameo.
The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian Two Disc and BD Live Blu ray
More exciting than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian continues the movie franchise based on C.S. Lewis’ classic fantasy books. The movie picks up where the first left off… sort of. It’s been a year since the Pevensie children–Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley)–returned to England from Narnia, and they’ve just about resigned themselves to living their ordinary lives. But just like that, they’re once again transported to a fantastical land, but one with a long-abandoned castle. It turns out that they are in Narnia again–and they themselves lived in that castle, but hundreds of years ago in Narnia time. They’ve been summoned back to help Prince Caspian (Stardust’s Ben Barnes, resembling a young, cultured Keanu Reeves), the rightful heir to the throne who’s become the target of his power-hungry uncle, King Mraz (Sergio Castellitto). And he’s not the only one threatened: Mraz’s people, the Telmarines, have pushed all the Narnians–the talking animals, the centaurs and other beasts, the walking trees–to the brink of extinction. Despite some alpha-male bickering, Peter and Caspian agree to fight Mraz alongside the remaining Narnians, including the dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and the swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard). (Also appearing is Warwick Davis, who was in Willow and the 1989 BBC Prince Caspian.) But of course they most of all miss the noble lion, Aslan, who would have never let this happen to Narnia if he hadn’t disappeared. Prince Caspian is epic, evoking memories of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. (Some of the battle elements may seem too familiar, but they were in Lewis’s book.) And it’s appropriate for kids (Reepicheep could have come out of a Shrek movie), though the tone is dark and there is a lot of death, albeit bloodless. After two successful films, Disney and Walden Media’s franchise has proved successful enough that many of the characters are scheduled to return in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. –David Horiuchi
Stills from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Click for larger image)
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User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Prince Caspian Review
I like this movie quite a bit. I feel like it is more suspensful and has more action than first movie.
The blu-ray picture is fantastic. One of the best I’ve seen.
5 Stars Excellent Blu-ray Quality
I was very pleased with my purchase of “The Chronicles of Narnia” in blu-ray format. I found the picture and sound to be of the highest quality. I have no complaints about my purchase.
4 Stars Good Show, but sad.
I really enjoyed this movie. The sound effects are great. It’s way more intense than the first one. I haven’t read any of the books but, I would really like for there to be another movie. I believe the it has a really sad ending. All in all, it’s a good flick. Watch it today if you like fantasy.
4 Stars Narnia: Prince Caspian
It was a great choice between BD and DVD, of course I bought the BD. As you all know the quality is far more better than regular DVD. The movie had a pretty good opening to and it was very catchy. Story has a pretty good plot to it but it wasn’t as good as the first movie. there were more action on the first movie compared to this. All in all it was a great and fun movie to watch.
5 Stars Prince Caspian is even better than expected!
I didn’t get a chance to see Prince Caspian in the theaters, so I decided to buy it online. We laughed at the clever antics of the Narnians, gasped at the battle scenes, and loved it!
The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Blu ray
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 12/16/2008 Run time: 130 minutes Rating: Pg
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars There is good and bad …
I have always like Yeoh and she is the best part of the movie to me. The effects are pretty good. Li doesn’t have much of a part and he doesn’t do much with it. There are disconnects between this movie and the previous movie. The son was British, but now very American. It could happen, I suppose, but not likely. Fraser is ok in the movie. He seems like he could do this movie in his sleep. The obnoxious brother-in-law is more annoying in this one than the first two. The romance still works between Fraser and his wife. Bello as the wife is ok. The movie takes place in China and I thought that worked. Shangri-la was cool.
In summary, the movie barely works if you keep your expectations low. Yeoh is good and so is the daughter. The CGI and the special effects are good. Rent don’t buy this movie.
1 Star Jumping the Shark … China Style
This movie was a watered-down version of Mummy II … only set in China.
This movie was horrible. Sets a new standard for “jumping the shark.”
I’m a big fan of Brendan Fraiser, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. LOVED the first two mummy movie.
Now I’m an even bigger fan of Rachael Weisz for not acting in this disaster.
The script was laughable (as in “Ouch! Did they really just say that?!?”), the plot was watered down from the second installment and tended to take ridiculous leaps. The entire story insulted the legendary history of China. (I thought “The Forbidden Kingdom” was better than this pile of garbage.
There was none of the humor and wit from the first two movies.
Jet Li had too few lines. Maria Bello had too many.
Save your money. Skip this dog, and watch one of the first two again.
1 Star Bites The Big One
Mummy 3 should have been called Soapdish 2 rather than be included in the Mummy series. We’re actually to believe that Luke Ford, who is pushing 30, is the son of Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello who are in their early 40’s at most. You can literally see Fraser cringe when he has his “father to son” talks in the flick. And let’s be honest you kind of get the feeling this was a vehicle for Luke Ford rather than Fraser, Bello and Li. Bello btw, is just horrible. I like her better in movies with her top off rather than see her feign a piss poor English accent. Rachel Weiz (sp?) really did make hold her own in the previous entries.
Other ef ups/Jumping The Shark, Yeti’s come out of nowhere to save the day, Jet Li turns into King Ghidorah, John Hannah bombs and machine guns the Nationalists from a CGI air freighter. Hannah, who I liked immensely in the other Mummy’s is used strictly to show that this is indeed another Mummy sequel. A total waste of good talent.
Jet Li’s character? What does he care that he wakes up thousands of years later? Neon lighting, automobiles, airplanes, guns, Doublemint gum? He doesn’t have time to marvel at modern times he has a terra cotta army to awake and take over China. Thank heaven he’s defeated be a general he had killed. I was kind of sad at seeing that, I would have liked to see how Li’s character would have done against the Long Marchers. Maybe the US would have funded his terra cotta army to defeat Mao first and Kim Il-sung later….but I’m getting ahead of myself.
In short: Dumb, stupid, awful, lame, retarded and I want my money back.
2 Stars RACHEL where are you….screwed up my Mummy DVD set.
No matter how bad the script, she should have been there. She and Brendan and the english accented little boy were the Mummy. This new guy? Oh my god what a waste. Perfect english..no british accent??? Why didnt they just use the same little actor, he would have been much older and more believable. The new Evie tried but could not bring that character to life like Rachel did. The chemistry was not there between Brendan and her either. Not her fault really, she did try. I do blame the producers and the director for screwing up this proven formula, but Rachel no matter how bad at least the set would have been complete…damn! That was my BIGGEST disappointment…NO RACHEL “Im a librarian” Totally hit the mark with her portrayal. Perfect chemistry between Brendan and her big brother. Incidently the big brother part was perfect as it was in the first 2 films….kudos to this gifted actor.
The producers and director really missed the point. DON’T change the recipe half way thru. Screwed up my DVD Mummy set for good.
4 Stars 3Rd Time is the charm
Tomb of the Dragon Emperor continues the Oconnell family fight agaisnt mummies or the undead (depends on your perspective). After retiring Rick and evie find that retirement can be rather boring. THere estranged son alex is off keeping up the family business in search of the past when he by accident finds the tomb of the dragon emperor and his army which was cursed many years ago. Alex needs his moms and dads help (which they jump at) and along for the ride comes his cowardly but capable uncle. Great special effects and lots of action abound.
Return to Never Land Pixie Powered Edition
Unlike Disney’s other sequels to their classic films, this follow-up to the 1953 version of Peter Pan debuted in theaters. World War II has turned Wendy’s preteen daughter, Jane, into a realist, a girl who insists there’s no need for stories and fun while London is crumbling. Hook kidnaps Jane (thinking she’s Wendy) and returns to “the second star to the right” to foil Pan. Alas, the film doesn’t build on this new story line (the London scenes have the most emotional impact), and what follows is a thin reworking of the original. On the plus side, a clever octopus takes over from that old crocodile, and Jane turns out to be a solid–and modern–role model. Those from ages 4 to 9 who have been brought up on the original should enjoy these adventures, even if the story, like Peter himself, “hasn’t grown up.” The 72-minute film is shown with the delightful 1948 short “Pluto’s Fledgling.” –Doug Thomas
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars not as good as original
I bought this for my kids ages 3, 6 and 8. They are all big fans of Peter Pan. None of them cared for this movie-I was surprised. I have no complaints on the quality of the movie.
5 Stars The next best thing to Peter Pan 1
If you are wondering if your children will love it… they WILL! And you will too. Our son (19 months) is as smitten with this version as he is with the original Peter Pan. It has a wonderful touching story line also and Disney has done a superb job on all accounts. Thank you for bringing Wendy’s daughter Jane to the big screen!
2 Stars Didn’t Like It
Where do I begin? Disney has again put out another lousy sequel to a great classic. I never had high expectations for this movie when I decided to rent it, so I guess it was just a little bit better than I expected, but I still think it is a pretty dumb movie.
I won’t waste my time summarizing the movie, so I’ll just try to tell you what I liked and what I didn’t like about it.
What I liked was most of the animation of this movie. The style of the background art seemed to stay true to the original movie from the 1950s, although there was quite a bit of CGI used throughout the film. Really, the animation was the only thing that I liked.
What I didn’t like about the movie:
1. The Script
The dialogue of this movie is so boring to me. A child in grade school could have written a better script than this one. It seems like someone just made a rough draft and they just said, “Yeah, we’ll just use that,” instead of taking any time to make it better. Most Disney films are made for KIDS, but this one seems like it was just made for babies (who would probably also find it pretty boring). In the first movie, while Peter was a kid, he was also very brave and clever. In this movie, he just seems stupid.
2. The Music
There are absolutley no good songs in this movie. The song about the lost boys is horrible.
3. Voices
Obviously, when you do a sequel to a movie that is over 50 years old, many of the original actors are either dead or too old to reprise their roles, so new people must be found. With several characters, I feel that they made the wrong choice of actor. For example, the chubby lost boy who they call Cubby in this movie has a voice that is nowhere near the original voice. I feel that they should find people who can come close to doing the old voice and go with the person who does it best. Otherwise the voice doesn’t fit the character. The person who did the voice of Smee sounded very much like the original, though.
So basically, this movie was a waste of time to me. It could have been a very good sequal, but Disney just decided not to put any real effort into it, which is why it falls very short. But like I said, I never had high expectations for it to begin with.
5 Stars We love Pan!
Even as an adult, I’m still facinated by the Peter Pan story and this sequel gives fans a fun visual continuation of the story. It’s not an award wining movie, but one that my two young daughters (ages 4 and 2) and I have watched over and over since receiving it. You get to know the Lost Boys a little more in this story and there’s just enough action to hold the girls attention. Who doesn’t dream of shouting “I can fly!”?! Let this movie take you for another ride to Never Land.
4 Stars Faith, Trust and…Ah, You Know How It Goes
Walt Disney’s production of J.M. Barrie’s wonderful “Peter Pan” gets a whole new chapter with “Return To Neverland.” In this tale, a grown-up Wendy and her husband (who’s been shipped off to war) are raising two young children in WWII London. As she promised him in the original film, Wendy has never forgotten Peter Pan and she tells her children of his many adventures. Young Daniel finds comfort in these tales as London is being bombed through the night. Jane thinks such stories are rubbish and only for little kids. She does not believe.
In an attempt to catch Peter once and for all, Captain Hook shows up in London the night before Jane and Daniel are to be sent to the country for protection and steals Jane mistaking her for Wendy. When Jane arrives in Neverland, she must come to terms with this fantasy-turned-reality in order to save herself, the Lost Boys and little Tinkerbell.
Diehard fans of the first film (adults in particular) will likely pick this film apart for any and every imperfection or diversion from the original tale. Fear not, faithful fans, this film doesn’t try to remake the original. It’s a good story in its own right. The animation is excellent, although the CG animation stands out a bit too much at moments. There’s little in the way of songs and there are no Indians or crocs to be seen. Still, this is a fun tale that I’m sure the whole family will enjoy.
The DVD is very good. As always, Disney has loaded this disc up with plenty of previews,as well as a Tinker Bell game, deleted scenes and a preview of the Disney “Fairies” collection.
This is a nice sequel. It doesn’t quite measure up to “Cinderella Three: A Twist In Time,” but it is one of the better sequels that Disney has produced. It’s always tough to top the original of any film series, and especially a Disney original. With that said, I give “Return To Neverland” a solid recommendation.
Hercules Disney Gold Classic Collection
Not the egregious foul it seemed to be in theaters, Hercules stands up as an entertaining spritzer of an animated feature. The continual peppering of in-jokes and cultural references becomes less irksome on video. That there’s no majesty or awe invested in the beloved Greek legends also seems less of an error. Also on the plus side is the bounciest Alan Menken music since Little Shop of Horrors. With Zeus’s blood in his veins, young Hercules’s amazing strength makes him an outcast (sorry, that still doesn’t fly), so he trains with a satyr named Phil to become a hero. Along the way Herc meets Meg, a common mortal who falls hard for him. They’re both against the jocular Hades, who has to destroy Hercules to take over Olympus. The hydra is the computer-animated set piece for this little number, a no-chance attempt to beat that wildebeest herd from The Lion King. –Keith Simanton
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great Present
This was a present for my girlfriend who collects disney dvds. This one was a rare find and I could not beat the price I got it for excellent product!!
4 Stars Hercules Review
The only problem with the movie is the sound is messed for the first 5 minutes. It’s really quite then all of a sudden it’s really loud.
1 Star Um,
I never recieved this product, even though I paid for it. I realize it was just a video tape, but I still should have gotten it by now right? It never got here.
2 Stars Great movie, terrible video quality.
This review specifically refers to the Gold Collection DVD. The transfer to DVD is one of the worst I’ve ever seen - I upgraded from a VHS tape and the video quality of both are about on par. It’s watchable and the younger kids may not care, but very disappointing considering what it could have been. If you have a larger TV expect to be underwhelmed.
4 Stars Hercules
Our 7 year old daughter loves this movie! It was #1 on her Christmas list as we lost our original. Danny DeVito is hilarious! It’s a great little movie about doing your best and “Going the Distance”. Great message, great music, subtle adult humor, too.