iCarly – iSaved Your Life (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

May 22, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Enjoyable, witty and all-out fun! The “iCarly: iSaved Your Life” DVD features a TV movie plus four episodes for a great price.

DVD TITLE: iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx

DURATION: 139 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen, Dolby Digital – English Stereo, Closed Captions

COMPANY: Nickelodeon/Paramount Home Entertainment

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: June 8, 2010

Created by Dan Schneider

Directed by Adam Weissman

Written by Jake Farrow, Andrew Hill Newman

Executive Producer: Dan Schneider

Associate Producer: Sean Gill

Costume Design by Kristin Dangl

Featuring the voices of:

Miranda Cosgrove as Carla Shay

Jennette McCurdy as Sam Puckett

Nathan Kress as Freddie Benson

Jerry Trainor as Spencer Shay

Noah Munck as Gibby

Ryan Ochoa as Chuck

Mary Scheer as Marissa Benson

Join Carly, Sam, Spencer and Freddie as they help Carly prepare for the scariest fight of her life in the iFight Shelby Marx TV Special, the most watched iCarly special to date, along with the iDate a Bad Boy TV Special and more all one DVD!

Since 2007, “iCarly” has been a popular series for Nickelodeon. The series revolves around Carly Shay (played by Miranda Cosgrove) and her best friend Samantha Puckett (played by Jennette McCurdy) who are the host of their popular web show “iCarly” which is edited and directed by Freddie Benson (played by Nathan Kress). Most of the scenes are shot at the home of Carly, who lives with her older brother and legal guardian, Spencer (played by Jerry Trainor).

Created and executive produced by Dan Schneider (creator of series “Drake & Josh”, “Zoey 101″, “Kenan & Kel”, “All That”, “The Amanda Show”), “iCarly” is currently on their third season and on January 18, 2010, an episode titled “iSaved Your Life” became the highest rated live action telecast in Nickelodeon history (with 11.2 million viewers) and the #1 telecast of all TV (cable and broadcast) that night.

Needless to say, the show is a big success for the cable network and now “iCarly: iSaved Your Life” is planned for release in June 2010.

The latest DVD includes four iCarly episodes and one iCarly TV Movie. Fans of the character Freddie will enjoy these episodes as they deal with how he relates to Carly and Sam (including how he shared a kiss with each girl):

EPISODE 60 – “iSaved Your Life”- Extended Director’s Cut – Freddie saves Carly from being hit by a taco truck and he ends up getting injured. Now Carly falls in love with him but can this cause problems to their friendship?
EPISODE 58-59 – “iQuit iCarly” – In this TV movie, as Carly and Sam try to help two young competitive aspiring filmmakers who have their own differences, they see themselves within these young filmmakers and sooner or later, both Carly and Sam start to not get along. Can their friendship be repaired?
EPISODE 51 – “iThink They Kissed” – Carly takes Sam to the dentist for an emergency checkup and while under laughing gas, Sam tells Carly that she kissed Freddie.
EPISODE 48 – “iTwins” – Carly and Sam are known for pranking Freddie but when Sam’s twin sister Melanie (the total opposite of Sam) comes to visit, Freddie thinks Sam is trying to pull a prank by making up a fake story of having a twin sister.
EPISODE 57 – “iMove Out” – After Freddie’s overprotective mom embarrasses him in front of his classmates, Freddie has had enough and moves out of his home.

VIDEO:

“iCarly: iSaved Your Life” is presented in standard definition and in full screen. Picture quality is good considering there is one TV movie and four episodes included on the DVD. There is compression artifacting and edge enhancement but for the audience being targeted, I doubt many will be that picky over picture quality.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Audio is presented in English stereo and dialogue and music is clear as it comes from the front channels. Dialogue is understandable and experienced no major problems during viewing. There are no subtitles but closed captions are included.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“iCarly – iSaved Your Life” comes with the following special features:

Welcome to My Boat – (1:59) Actor Jerry Trainor gives a tour of the boat used in the episode “iQuit iCarly”.
Window Stunt – (1:36) A look at the stunt women who double for Carly and Sam for the scaffolding stunts in the episode “iQuit iCarly”.
Birthday - (1:48) The cast of iCarly talk about the coolest and worst birthday gift they received.
Meet Chuck – (1:29) Young actor Ryan Ochoa talks about playing the evil kid Chuck.

My young son was a big “Drake & Josh” fan and has since graduated from that series and now enjoys “iCarly”.

Many times, I have watched the show along with him and he enjoys the humor of the series and needless to say, he loves the series. Upon reviewing this DVD, I admit I was surprised when I read the back cover and he instantly knew some of the episodes by memory. So, I would assume these have been replayed quite a bit on Nickelodeon.

For “iCarly: iSaved Your Life”, I feel that this is a solid release for those who are fans of the show (or parents curious about purchasing the series for their kids) when it comes to content. On one DVD, you get a TV movie and four episodes.

As for the parents who are wondering if the episodes are safe for the children, depending on their age, there is no major violence but there may be some content that parents may not want their younger children to see. The episodes are not rated but I’ll point out a few things that may be of concern to some parents who are considering of buying this DVD for younger children.

In the episode “iQuit iCarly”, there is a scene where both Carly and Sam walk out on a scaffold, out their building window and then trouble comes and Carly is left hanging from the scaffold. Granted, parents should reinforce the fact that children should keep out of windows high above the ground to begin with but that is probably the only thing I can think of that may be problematic for some parents.

And the episodes featured in “iCarly – iSaved Your Life” feature Freddie kissing Carly, having kissed Samantha, etc. So, these are young teenage situations but again, it is up to parents if they mind that or not.

Personally, the series and episodes featured on this DVD are nothing for parents to worry about but if the descriptions of scenes I mentioned above causes concern, especially if you were considering of buying this for a 5-9 year old child, then perhaps parental guidance is suggested.

Overall, “iSaved Your Life” was an entertaining DVD. Again, my young son absolutely loves this show and he enjoyed watching the episodes (again) on DVD. I wouldn’t be surprised if other children are feel the same way and seeing how the ratings are pretty strong for “iCarly”, many will have interest for this DVD.

If you are a big fan of the show or if you are a parent of a child who loves “iCarly”, “iSaved Your Life” is a DVD worth checking out.

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

X-MEN Volume 5 – Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

April 30, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The final volume and the final episodes of the popular 1990′s X-Men animated series is here! Featuring popular comic book storylines which includes “The Phalanx Covenant” and battles against Magneto, Omega Red, the Red Skull, Mojo, Mr. Sinister and more!

Images courtesy of © MARVEL, X-MEN and all related characters and their distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. and are used with permission.© Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: X-MEN VOLUME 5 (Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection)

DURATION: 308 Minutes (14 Episodes)

DVD INFORMATION: English, Dolby 2.0 Stereo, Fullscreen (1:33:1), French and Spanish Language Tracks, French and Spanish Subtitles

COMPANY: Marvel Entertainment Group/Buena Vista Home Entertainment

RATED: TV Y7 FV

RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2010

Starring:

Cedric Smith as the voice of Professor Charles Xavier

Cal Dodd as the voice of Wolverine/Logan

Norm Spencer as the voice of Cyclops/Scott Summers

Lenore Zann as the voice of Rogue

George Buza as the voice of Beast/Doctor Henry “Hank” McCoy

Catherine Disher as the voice of Jean Grey/Phoenix

Iona Morris (1992) and Alison Sealy-Smith (1992-1997) as the voice of Storm/Ororo Munroe

Alyson Court as the voice of Jubilee/Jubilation Lee

Chris Potter as the voice of Gambit/Remy Lebeau

Lawrence Bayne as the voice of Cable, Erik the Redd

Payl Haddad as the voice of Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner

Jeremy Ratchford as the voice of Banshee/Sean Cassidy

Lally Cadeau as the voice of Doctor Moira McTaggart

Ron Rubin as the voice of Morph

Marc Strange as the voice of Forge

Philip Akin as the voice of Bishop

David Hemblen as the voice of Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr

John Colicos and James Blendick as the voice of Apocalypse

Don Francks as the voice of Sabretooth/Victor Creed, Puck/Eugene Milton Judd, Shaman

Christopher Britton II as the voice of Mister Sinister/Nathaniel Essex

Rick Bennett as the voices of Juggernaut/Cain Marko and Colossus/Piotr Rasputin

The original tales of Marvel comic books come to life in Volume 5 of the X-men collection. Relive the action of the popular animated series in this collectible compilation of the X-men adventures. The X-men must turn to their arch-nemesis, Magneto, in an effort to save the life of Professor Xavier! Watch the action unfold in the final episode, “Graduation Day, “ and don’t miss a moment of X-men excitement in this 2-disc set, complete with 14 riveting episodes. Complete your X-men collection with this must-own final installment of this great animated series.

The X-Men Escape

Betrayal

Missing Jean Grey

Trouble Brewing

For 46 years, the mutant superhero team known as “X-Men” have been a part of the lives of several generations. I personally grew up with the the X-Men during the latest 70′s and early 80′s but became interested once again during the early 90′s when artist Jim Lee brought a new look and eventually created this incredible synergy amongst the fans. A time when Chris Claremont was ending his run and the storylines would be be infused by more excitement from Fabien Nicieza and Scot Lobdell.

We were greeted with awesome storylines such as the “The X-Tinction Agenda”, “The Muir Island Saga”, “X-Cutioner’s Song”, “Fatal Attractions”, “Phalanx Covenant” and “Age of Apocalypse” from 1990-1995 and in addition to the excitement in the comic books (which would continue on with the action figures from Toy Biz), the animated series was one of those special events that took place in October 1992 on the Fox Network.

I can easily remember how many of my friends and fellow comic book collectors were excited for the series. Although not exactly the same type of storyline from the comic books, the animated series captured the heart and soul of the X-Men and “X-Men: The Animated Series” would continue on through 1998.

Needless to say, the animated series is close to the heart for the diehard X-Men fan but also those who were young when the series came out, are now wanting to share the animated series with their own children. And for me, it’s great to watch this series alongside my six-year-old son and seeing him enjoy the series as well.

“X-MEN VOLUME 5″ comes with the final 15 episodes of the animated series on two DVD’s. It’s important to note that Buena Vista Home Entertainment has the episodes going by how it was aired and not by production episode number. So, I will list the episodes with their episode # on the DVD but also their episode script #.

Here is a brief, spoiler-less synopsis of “X-MEN Volume 5 – Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection”:

DISC: 1

EPISODE 63 (67) – The Phalanx Covenant (Part 1) - The techno-organic aliens known as the Phalanx attack life on Earth.
EPISODE 64 (68) – The Phalanx Covenant (Part 2) - The X-Men vs. the Phalanx.
EPISODE 65 (47) – A Deal with the Devil – Wolverine and Storm take on Omega Red.
EPISODE 66 (34) – No Mutant is an Island - After the aftermath of “The Phoenix Saga”, Cyclops leaves the X-Men.
EPISODE 67 (36) – Longshot – The Inner Circle make their move and Professor X and Emma Frost battle against each other for psychic control of Jean. The Dark Phoenix is born.
EPISODE 68 (59) – Bloodlines – Nightcrawler receives a message that his mother is in trouble.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 69 (69) – Storm Front (Part 1) – The alien Arkon asks for Storm to return with him to his planet and proposes to her.
EPISODE 70 (70) – Storm Front (Part 2) – Arkon and Storm are to be married but the X-Men find out that Arkon is not exactly on the side of good.
EPISODE 71 (72) – Jubilee’s Fairy Tale Theatre - Jubilee leads a tour for several kids in a cave on mansion property but are caught in a cave-in.
EPISODE 72 (71) – The Fifth Horseman - Fabian Cortez kidnaps Jubilee.
EPISODE 73 (73) – Old Soldiers – A past story of when Wolverine and Captain America worked together back in World War II.
EPISODE 74 (75) - Descent - The origin of Mr. Sinister.
EPISODE 75 (74) - Hidden Agendas – Professor X takes in Sam Guthrie (Cannonball).
EPISODE 76 (76) – Graduation Day – It’s the day of the Mutant/Human Relations Summit but Gyrich intends to make his presence known.

VIDEO:

“X-MEN” the animated series is presented in full screen (1:33:1). One thing that you will notice is that the animation does show its age. Since the animation was created over 15-years ago, a lot of the animation is hand drawn and compared to many of the digital animated series that are show on television today, the animation doesn’t have that digital color vibrancy as newer animations and also, you will notice that the animation does has its share of interlacing and on bigger television screens, viewers will notice edge enhancement as well.

It’s important to note that the final six episodes were animated by a different company. As the animated series was supposed to end with season four’s “Beyond Good and Evil”, FOX ordered more episodes but the animators in Korea (AKOM) were already working on the second season of “Fantastic Four”, the Philippine Animation Studio was brought in to complete the season. Although not sure if anyone will be able to tell the difference.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

As for audio, audio is presented in Dolby 2.0 and is dialogue-driven (a French and Spanish language track is also included). Unfortunately, the soundtrack is front channel driven but for those who have receivers capable of a setting to enable stereo on all channels, I found that to be the best setting to enjoy the series on my home theater system.

As for subtitles, “X-MEN VOLUME 3″ is provided in English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features included on both DVD’s.

I was among the big X-Men fans who were highly anticipating the series and just loved it! As a collector of the X-Men comic books around that time period, to have a series based on Jim Lee’s character designs and a series with so much potential of showcasing a variety of enemies and characters, it was always a treat to find out who would be introduced in each episode.

In fact, during the hoopla and way before the Internet became part of our natural lives, many of the fans would communicate about the episodes through electronic BBS’s and show our happiness and excitement over the animated series, the action figure line and of course the many multiple X-Men related comic book series that flourished from the early 90′s.

For volume 5, fans who were reading the comic books were also treated with the Phalanx storyline in animated format. So, as an X-Man fan at the time, it was very cool to see something that was featured in a comic, appear so quickly in the cartoon.

Now, there is one thing that is a big negative that hardcore fans of the animated series may find and that is the choice to feature the episodes via air date and not script #.

For example, the majority of the episodes on this DVD are from season five but because of the production #, episodes from season three such as “No Mutant is an Island” (which is listed as episode #66 but on television it was episode #34) and “Longshot” (which is episode #67 was episode #36 on television) end up on this fifth DVD volume. So, for continuity sakes, especially with “No Mutant is an Island” which comes after the “Phoenix Saga”, there is continuity disruption which is a bit unfortunate.

Granted, I know there are hardcore fans who really take issue of the episode listing on this DVD series but knowing how long fans have waited for the series and knowing what’s done is done, this is probably the best we are going to get of the series in a long time (unless they remaster and restore it for a Blu-ray release in the future which I don’t know if that will ever happen and because of the quality of the series, I kind of doubt it). So, with that being said, I still recommend the purchase of the series, especially if you have already purchased volume 1 through 4.

Overall, “X-MEN VOLUME 5″ is an entertaining set and if you have started collecting the various volumes, you will definitely want to complete your collection with this fifth volume.

For fans of the “X-MEN” animated series, despite the episode listing which is disconcerting for some, the episodes are still entertaining, nostalgic, action-packed and still enjoyable to watch over 15 years later and yes… for hardcore X-Men fans, still worth owning!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

LEVERAGE: THE SECOND SEASON – ON DVD 5/25/10

April 30, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

TNT’S HIT DRAMA STARRING ACADEMY AWARD® WINNER
TIMOTHY HUTTON RETURNS FOR ANOTHER ACTION-PACKED SEASON
LEVERAGE
THE SECOND SEASON

The Con is On May 25, 2010 as the Highly-Rated Drama Debuts on DVD

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – The riveting, clever and thoroughly entertaining series that The Hollywood Reporter called “a flashy hour of fun” returns for another round of righting wrongs when LEVERAGE The Second Season arrives on DVD May 25, 2010 from Paramount Home Entertainment. TNT’s hit drama “Leverage” is averaging 4.4 million viewers and recently ranked as one of ad-supported cable’s top new original series of 2008-09. LEVERAGE stars Oscar®-winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People) as the leader of an elite team of thieves, hackers and con artists who act as modern day Robin Hoods by standing up for those who have been victimized by the rich and powerful. In the timely second season, the team takes on corrupt bankers, high fashion, the tabloid media and an old nemesis from their past. The show also stars Gina Bellman (“Coupling”), Christian Kane (“Into The West”), Beth Riesgraf (Alvin and the Chipmunks) and Aldis Hodge (“Friday Night Lights”). In addition, Jeri Ryan (“Star Trek: Voyager”) joins the cast as a special guest star in a continuing story arc as a temporary member of the team. “Leverage” returns to TNT this summer.
The LEVERAGE The Second Season DVD includes all 15 episodes with audio commentary on every episode, a Q&A with the series’ creators, a set tour, a spoof video, the season two wrap party gag reel and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Arriving just in time for the return of season three, the four-disc set will be available for the suggested retail price of $39.99 U.S.
LEVERAGE The Second Season is presented in widescreen with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround. Every episode includes audio commentary and the DVD disc breakdown is as follows:
Disc One:
The Beantown Bailout Job
The Tap-Out Job
The Order 23 Job
The Fairy Godparents Job
Disc Two:
The Three Days of the Hunter Job
The Top Hat Job
The Two Live Crew Job
The Ice Man Job
Disc Three:
The Lost Heir Job
The Runway Job
The Bottle Job
The Zanzibar Marketplace Job
Disc Four:
The Future Job
The Three Strikes Job
The Maltese Falcon Job
Bonus Features:
The Creators of Leverage Q&A
John Rogers Set Tour
Behind the Boom Featurette
“The Hand Job” Spoof Video
Andy Lange Music Featurette
Season 2 Wrap Party Gag Reel
Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. PHE is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment products on behalf of various parties including: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Paramount Famous Productions, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS and PBS and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.

TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama and home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Men of a Certain Age, with Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and
Scott Bakula; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; HawthoRNe, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott; as well as the newly acquired Southland, from Emmy®-winning producer John Wells (ER). TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, CSI: NY and Numb3rs; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Electric Entertainment is a full service film, television, and new media production company headed by veteran producer Dean Devlin along with partners Kearie Peak, Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan. Over the last fifteen years, Devlin has co-written and produced some of the most successful feature films of all time. He co-wrote and produced Stargate and Independence Day, which has grossed over $800 million worldwide. He co-wrote and produced Godzilla, and produced The Patriot starring Mel Gibson, which was nominated for three Academy Awards. Electric is currently in pre-production on the third season of “Leverage,” the 1-hour drama series airing on TNT and is in pre-production on the science-fiction thriller feature Ghosting, which Devlin will direct. Electric’s most recent film projects include Flyboys, the politically-charged documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, Cellular starring Kim Basinger and Eight Legged Freaks. In addition to “Leverage,” Electric’s television credits include Sci Fi Channel’s “The Triangle,” which won an Emmy for its Visual Effects; “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear,” starring Noah Wyle which aired on TNT in December 2004 and was the highest rated movie on cable that year; its sequel “The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines” which won an Emmy award for best music composition; and “The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice” which premiered in December 2008.

Filed Under: Blu-ray & DVD News

Iron Man – The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

April 30, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

For those nostalgic for the old school 1994-1996 “Iron Man” animated series, you’ll be happy with this release! Featuring many of characters from the Marvel Universe and all two seasons (26-episodes) are included in this DVD set.

DVD TITLE: Iron Man – The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series (Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection)

DURATION: 26 Episodes – 572 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: English, Dolby 2.0 Stereo, Fullscreen (1:33:1), French and Spanish Language Tracks, French and Spanish Subtitles

COMPANY: Marvel Entertainment Group/Buena Vista Home Entertainment

RATED: TV Y7 FV

RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2010

Starring:

Robert Hays as Iron Man

John Reilly as Hawkeye

Jennifer Hale/Casie Defranco as Julia Carpenter

Ed Gilbert as the The Mandarin

Katherine Moffat as Scarlet Witch

Jim Cummings as M.O.D.O.L

Dorian Harewood/James Avery as War Machine

James Warwick as Century

tony Steedman as Justin Hammer

Neil Dicson as Dreadknight

Chuck McCann as Blizzard

Neil Ross as Fin Fang Foom

From Stan Lee comes Marvel’s complete 1994 animated television series, Iron Man. Experience every thrilling moment – from the very first episode, to the final climactic battle – in this 3-disc collector’s edition. Witness the action-packed adventure from the very beginning as billionaire inventor Tony Stark dons his invincible suit of iron to battle the villainous Mandarin and the power of his ten deadly rings.

With fellow super heroes Nick Fury, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Spider Woman and Hawkeye at his side, Iron Man faces off against a band of evil foes, including Whiplash…and confronts his own demons, as well. Go behind the armor and get to know the man under the powered suit. This complete Iron Man collection is a must-have for fans of all ages !

Search Party

The End of Iron Man?

Ultimo!

Iron Man to the Rescue!

The “Iron Man” comic book series has been a strong part of the Marvel Universe. Originally created by Stan Lee and debuting in Tales of Suspense #39 back in 1963,the series revolved around the playboy and industrial millionaire Tony Stark who suffered a severe heart injury during a kidnapping. Keeping him alive was a device connected to his heart and being the master inventor that he is, creates a suit of armor to help keep him alive but also to become the super hero known as Iron Man.

The character continues to be a popular and within the last four decades since his character debut, Iron Man has gone through various uniforms with one given to his best friend James Rhodes who would go on to become War Machine. And with the resurgence of comic book collecting in the early ’90s, Marvel capitalized the opportunity by releasing new animated series.

And in 1994, the Marvel Action Hour was born. “Iron Man” aired from 1994-1996 in syndication along with “The Fantastic Four” and also had a popular toy line to go along with the animated series. Although the episodes have been shown on television, the complete 1994 animated television series (featuring both seasons) for “Iron Man” will now be released on DVD via a 3-disc DVD set.

The first season of the “Iron Man” animated series was quite different from the comic book series as it featured Iron Man taking on the Mandarin and his group of villains which include Dreadknight, Blizzard, Blacklash, Grey Gargoyle, Hypnotia, Whirlwind, Living Laser, MODOK, Fin Fang Foom and Justin Hammer. Joining Iron Man in the battle are his fellow Force Works team (ala remnants of the West Coast Avengers) featuring Century, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Spider Woman. By the second season, there was a connection to the comic book series with the inclusion of “The Armor Wars” storyline.

Here is a brief summary of the episodes included in “Iron Man – The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series”:

DISC: 1

EPISODE 1 – And the Sea Shall Give Up It’s Dead – The Mandarin creates an army of zombies to conquer the world. Can Iron Man and friends defeat Mandarin and his group of enemies?
EPISODE 2 – Rejoice! I Am Ultimo, Thy Deliverer – The Mandarin and MODOK resurrects Ultimo.
EPISODE 3 – Data In, Chaos Out – What happens when the Mandarin steals and reprograms Tony Stark’s military and communication satellites.
EPISODE 4 – Silence My Companion, Death My Destination – Elastika kidnaps Julia Carpenter’s daughter Rachel.
EPISODE 5 – The Grim Reaper Wears a Teflon Coat – Mandarin’s group steals the super fighter bomber jet, the Grim Reaper.
EPISODE 6 – Enemy Without, Enemy Within – Mandarin’s group of enemies kidnaps a model and Iron Man and friends must rescue her.
EPISODE 7 – Origin of the Mandarin – A video is found featuring the origin of the Mandarin.
EPISODE 8 – The Defection of Hawkeye – Is Hawkeye helping the Mandarin?

DISC 2:

EPISODE 9 – Iron Man to the Second Power, Part 1 - MODOK creates an Iron Man double.
EPISODE 10 – Iron Man to the Second Power, Part 2 – Iron Man vs. his double.
EPISODE 11 – The Origin of Iron Man, Part 1 – Iron Man is trapped in the arctic, while alone and freezing, Tony Stark remembers how he became Iron Man.
EPISODE 12 – The Origin of Iron Man, Part 2 – Tony Stark continues to reminisce of his past, meanwhile Force Works tries to find him before the Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom gets to him.
EPISODE 13 – The Wedding of Iron Man – The Mandarin and Justin Hammer think that Tony Stark may be Iron Man.
EPISODE 14 - The Beast Within – The Mandarin tries to steal Tony Stark’s armor.
EPISODE 15 – Fire and Rain – Iron Man takes on Firebrand.
EPISODE 16 – Cell of Iron – A.I.M. has gone forward with terrorist attacks and now Iron Man must stop them.
EPISODE 17 – Not Far From the Tree – Tony Stark intercepts a plea of help from his father but Tony thought his father is dead.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 18 – Beauty Knows No Pain – Workers in Egypt have been kidnapped by Madame Masque and Maggia.
EPISODE 19 – Iron Man, On the Inside – ULTIMO and H.O.M.E.R. are back!
EPISODE 20 – Distant Boundaries – Iron Man and War Machine embark towards the planet Elysian.
EPISODE 21 – The Armor Wars, Part 1 – Iron Man tries to stop a coup in Russia started by Crimson Dynamo but Iron Man is blamed when people are injured.
EPISODE 22 – The Armor Wars, Part 2 – Iron Man takes on his former teammate Hawkeye.
EPISODE 23 – Hulk Buster – The Leader has found two of the Mandarin’s rings and Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk get pulled into a time rift.
EPISODE 24 – Empowered – MODOK locates one of Mandarin’s power rings.
EPISODE 25 – Hands of the Mandarin, Part 1 – The Mandarin has reunited with all ten of his rings and now wants to take over the world.
EPISODE 26 – Hands of the Mandarin, Part 2 – Iron Man and the Force Works try to stop the Mandarin.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Iron Man – The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series” is presented in full screen (1:33:1). It’s important to note that a lot of animation created in the ’90s don’t hold up as well in terms of picture quality. I’ve always felt that the Marvel animated series from the early ’80s had more detail when it came to artistic backgrounds and even the characters themselves. But for the most part, the animation is fine but for those with larger television sets, the edge enhancement is quite apparent as well as interlacing. Although, I was watching this on a 51″, I switched to a smaller screen and on smaller screens, things looked better but the interlacing is still noticeable.

But it’s important to remind people that this is an animated series that is over 15-years-old and it was the first Marvel animated series to also sport CG. Although, the CG is quite dated by today’s standards.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. The sound effects are fine and the dialogue is clear. I preferred to have my receiver settings set at stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundscape but for the most part, there are no issues with audio.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features included.

EXTRAS:

“Iron Man – The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series” comes with a slip cover.

It’s great to see “Iron Man” the animated series finally being released on DVD. As a big fan of Iron Man especially enjoying and collecting the comic books for many years, it’s great to see the character receiving some love by fans especially since the first live action film had done so well.

When the “Iron Man” animated series was released in 1994, I have to admit that although I enjoyed the character and the comic book series, I didn’t like the enemies presented in the animated series at all. To have Mandarin being this leader of evil (like Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) just didn’t seem right. Also, to see A.I.M. leader MODOK working for Mandarin also seemed a bit out of place.

But when the series was on television, one of the major reasons I was staying tuned to the series was that the characters of the West Coast Avengers (Force Works) were in the series. When the X-Men animated series was released two years earlier, I was wanting an Avengers series (which would eventually happen but several years later), so this “Iron Man” animated series was the best thing at that time.

I felt that the first season of “Iron Man” was a bit hokey but by the second season things started to get better. Especially with the inclusion of the Armor Wars and also showcasing the Hulk Buster armor (it’s important to note that the “Hulk Buster” episode was connected to the Incredible Hulk animated series in 1996 but the animated series has not yet been released on DVD).

As for the DVD itself, it’s great to see all episodes from both seasons on DVD. I guess it has been so long since I have seen the episodes that I was a bit shocked by the edge enhancement and interlacing but I suppose considering the age of the series, this is probably the best we will see of these older animated series.

Overall, “Iron Man – The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series” was great for nostalgic sake and for hardcore Iron Man fans, if you enjoyed the animated series between 1994-1996, then definitely give this DVD a chance!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Go Diego Go! – The Great Panda Adventure (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

April 17, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Looking for a fun and educational DVD for your children? “Go Diego Go! – The Great Panda Adventure” features four episodes for a great price!

DVD TITLE: Go Diego Go! – The Great Panda Adventure

DURATION: 4 Episodes (96 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen, Dolby Digital – English Stereo

COMPANY: Nickelodeon/Paramount

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2010

Directed by Katie McWane

Written by Ligiah Villalobos, Jorge Aguirre

Coordinating Producer: Katie McWane

Supervising Producer: Jeff DeGrandis

Casting by Leslie Zaslower

Music by Jed Becker, Steve Sandberg

Featuring the voices of:

Jake T. Austin as Diego

Gabriela Aisenberg as Alicia

Rosie Perez as Click, the Camera

E. Austin Balentine as Baby Jaguar

Sasha Toro as Backpack

All Aboard! Join Diego and Baby Jaguar as they rescue animals all over the world. In these action packed journeys we pick up Pandas in the mountains of China; return a lost Koala to his mommy in the Australian Forest; reunite a Lemur with his family in Madagascar; and protect a Beaver’s dam from a giant wave in the Canadian Rockies. Catch Diego as you’ve never seen him before! ¡Vámonos!

I can easily remember how my son would watch “Dora the Explorer” and really enjoyed the series. But if there was a character that he did enjoy watching, it was Diego, the 8-year-old adventurer who has protected the rainforests and sure enough, in 2005, Nickelodeon gave Diego his own show titled “Go Diego Go!” and a new DVD with “Go Diego Go! – The Great Panda Adventure”.

Similar to “Dora the Explorer”, “Go Diego Go!” is a series that helps children learn about animals (in this DVD – giant pandas, koalas, lemurs and beavers), animal and environmental conservation, Spanish language skills, matching and physical motion.

The episodes featured on this DVD are:

All Aboard the Giant Panda Express! – Help Diego and Baby Jaguar help the giant pandas reach bamboo mountain.
Koala’s Birthday Hug – Diego is on an Australian adventure as he needs to help Joey the Koala get home and receive a birthday hug from his mother.
Leaping Lemurs! – Diego and Baby Jaguar must help Sifaka Lemur find her family in Madagascar.
Diego Saves the Beavers – Diego and Billy the Beaver need to work together and prevent a giant wave from hurting the animals in the Canadian Rockies.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Go Diego Go! – The Great Panda Adventure” is presented in full screen and in Dolby Digital English stereo. Animation features vibrant colors and dialogue is clear and understandable. Picture quality is good as there are some animated shows that are newer than others.

But overall, this is for the children and the picture and audio quality should be satisfactory.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Go Diego Go! – The Great Panda Adventure” comes with the following special features featuring Nickelodeon’s singing group, the Fresh Beat Band.

Fresh Beat Band performing “Great Day”
Fresh Beat Band performing “Loco Legs”

“Go Diego Go!” is a fantastic series for the children and a very good DVD (especially on long commutes) in order to help children with their decision skills but also teaching them about animals, the environment but also Spanish language skills, matching and physical motion.

If anything, it was very good for Nickelodeon to have an animated series on a boy adventurer and sure enough, my son who grew up with the series absolutely loved the show. The four episodes selected for “Go Diego Go! – The Great Panda Adventure” are all solid adventure-based episodes taking Diego out of the rain forest and putting him in China, Australia, Madagascar and the Canadian Rockies.

If there was one thing that I am a bit critical about Nickelodeon DVD’s thus far is that I wish there were more special features, possibly DVD-rom content or games but other than that, you do get four episodes and the DVD’s are typically sold at a low price, so they are very affordable and very good, safe, educational children’s animated episodes.

So, for the most part, your young children should be entertained by this release. “Go Diego Go! – The Great Panda Adventure” is entertaining for the children, family fun episodes that parents can watch with their children or children can watch alone and learn from.

If you are a parent looking for a DVD for the children, especially with Summer coming up and wanting a DVD for those long commutes or a DVD to keep the kids occupied for the children’s summer vacation, I definitely recommend “Go Diego Go! – The Great Panda Adventure”.

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Living for the Day After Tomorrow – Complete Collection (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

April 5, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

An entertaining, enjoyable, emotional and vibrant anime series! “Living for the Day After Tomorrow” is an anime drama series without the usual love triangle driven storyline but still manages to captivate you from beginning to end. Definitely recommended!

TITLE: Living for the Day After Tomorrow – Complete Collection

DURATION: Episodes 1-12 (300 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Japanese 2.0, English subtitles

COMPANY: TBS Animation/Sentai Filmworks

RATED: TV 14D

Released on April 13, 2010

Originally created by J-Ta Yamada

Directed by Katsushi Sakurabi

Series Composition by Seishi Minakami

Screenplay by Seishi Minakami, Tatsuhiko Urahata

Music by Shinkichi Mitsumune

Character Design by Ikuko Ito

Art Director: Shichiro Kobayashi

Anime Production by J.C. Staff

Featuring the following voice talent:

Ayumi Fujimura as Karada Iokawa

Shizuka Itou as Shōko Nogami

Akeno Watanabe as Tōko Amino

Ami Koshimizu as Kotomi Shiozaki

Katsuhito Nomura as Tetsumasa Amino

Satoshi Hino as Hiro Iokawa

There are far worse things than having to deal with your ex-boyfriend’s little sister or your older brother’s ex-girlfriend. But that’s something Karada Iokawa and Shoko Nogami have to learn the hard way when a magic wishing stone inexplicably grants Karada’s wish to be older – and does it by stealing the years from Shoko! Now Shoko, who’s already graduated and studied overseas, is Karada’s age, just about to enter junior high school. Meanwhile Karada must suddenly face the real facts about what being grown up entails. And just to make a bizarre situation even more awkward, there’s the issue of how to handle their existing romantic interests!

In 2006, an anime adaptation of J-ta Yamada’s “Asatte no Houkou (Living for the Day After Tomorrow)” was aired on Japanese television. The original 2005 manga series which was serialized in the Mag Garden Magazine “Comic Blade Masamune” finally reaches U.S. shores via Section23 Films/Sentai Filmworks.

The anime series is directed by Katsushi Sakurabi (“Revolutionary Girl Utena”, “Ai Yori Aoshi”, “Tsukihime, Lunar Legend”) and a screenplay by Seishi Minakami (“Bakuman”, “Skull Man”, “Boogiepop Phantom”) and Tatsuhiko Urahata (“Aria the Natural”, “Ichigo 100%”, “Mermaid’s Scar”, “Nana”). Character design is by Ikuko Ito (“Princess Tutu”, “Sailor Moon R”, “Magic User’s Club”), art direction by Shichiro Kobayashi (“Ashita no Joe 2″, “Angel’s Egg”, “Golgo 13: The Professional”, “Kimagure Orange Road”) and music is by Shinkichi Mitsumune (“FLCL”, “Cyber Team in Akihabara”, “Yu-Gi-Oh”, “Rozen Maiden”).

“Living for the Day After Tomorrow” revolves around Hiro Iokawa and his adopted young sister Karada Iokawa. Hiro was living in the United States attending college in Boston and dating his girlfriend Shoko Nogami. But one day, he received a phone call that his parents had died. Because he had to leave his girlfriend temporarily, he promised that he would return.

But when Hiro came back home, he was left with his two-year-old adopted sister who he had to raise and thus breaking his promise to Shoko, with no reason but telling her that he can’t go back to the US.

Flash forward and now Karada is entering junior high school. She’s a bit sensitive and knows that her brother Hiro has sacrificed everything in his life to take care of her and it hurts her that he can’t have a normal life because of her and the fact is that she is too young.

So, she goes to shrine which has these special wishing stones which she prays that she can get older.

Meanwhile, Shoko Nogami has moved back to Japan and decided to move to an area where she can start her life over again. Needless to say, she has not gotten over her breakup and has became introverted. So, she wants to start a new life for herself, in a city she has never lived before and not think about her former life with Hiro.

As she is walking, she ends up near the shrine and meets the young girl Karada but to her surprise, she also sees her ex-boyfriend Hiro. Needless to say, all emotions come pouring back to Shoko and seeing Hiro with a young girl, she can’t understand what is going on. But she realizes that the reason he stayed in Japan, was for the girl and he picked the young girl over her and thus, has a bit of a dislike towards Karada.

With emotions high for Karada who wants to be old and further enhanced by Shoko calling her childish, on one night she prays at the shrine. Shoko then comes to join her and all of a sudden, life changes for both women. Karada becomes an adult, while Shoko becomes a young girl. And the wishing stones that were under the shrine have dissolved. Without any wishing stones, it appears that the two may not be able to revert back to their original selves.

Because of their new predicament and knowing that no one will believe what happened to them, Karada must grow up quickly under the guidance of Shoko, while Shoko depends on Karada to be the person in charge of getting a job to support each other. But can Karada help someone that may be responsible for her breakup with Hiro?

Meanwhile, Hiro is worried that something bad has happened to Karada. But when he goes to Shoko’s home and discovers a young girl that resembles her, will Hiro believe what has happened to his younger sister and ex-girlfriend?

The main characters of “Living for the Day After Tomorrow” are:

Karada Iokawa - Karada is a junior high student who is known for her short height, her bubbly attitude, her sensitivity and always worrying about her older brother Hiro because of all he has done for her. Karada was adopted at the age of two by Hiro’s parents but since their deaths, she has been raised by him.
Shoko Nogami – A young woman who returned to Japan after studying in the U.S. She is the ex-girlfriend that Hiro had left behind in the U.S. and is still not over her breakup. She has since closed herself off from people since the breakup. She is not aware of the reason why Hiro broke up with her (since they were literally a couple in love) and because there is no closure, she is still hurt by the breakup.
Hiro Iokawa – Karada’s older brother. He has given his life for his sister including breaking up with his former girlfriend Shoko and also becoming somewhat of an introvert.
Tetsumasa Amino – Karada’s classmate and a boy who has always loved Karada but often can’t stand Hiro because Hiro interferes when Tetsumasa tries to get close to Karada.
Toko Amino – The older sister of Tetsumasa who works at a diner that Hiro eats at. She is attracted to Hiro.
Kotomi Shionzaki - She befriends young Shoko and Tetsumasa and is free-spirited for her age.

The following 12-episodes are featured on two DVD’s. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode of “Living for the Day After Tomorrow – Complete Collection”:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 1 - Karada and Shoko’s life will no longer be the same after Karada’s wish has been granted.
EPISODE 2 - Karada and Shoko must depend on each other. Meanwhile, Hiro must find out where Karada is.
EPISODE 3 – Hiro shows up at the home of Shoko but can she keep up the charade that she is Shoko’s sister.
EPISODE 4 - Hiro has a hard time believing what happened to both Karada and Shoko.
EPISODE 5 - Shoko moves in with Hiro and Karada. Tetsu tries to look for Karada.
EPISODE 6 - Tetsu continues his search for Karada and gets help from the older Karada.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 7 – Karada and Shoko celebrate Hiro’s birthday but emotions run high for Shoko as she has to stay at the home of her ex-boyfriend.
EPISODE 8 – Karada runs away from home and tries to live on her own.
EPISODE 9 - Karada finds a job at a restaurant and is now living on her own. Meanwhile, Tetsu and Kotomi travel to another city to find Karada.
EPISODE 10 - Tetsu is shocked to find the older Karada (he still doesn’t know that the girl he is looking for is older Karada). Meanwhile, Tetsu suffers from exhaustion from his search and Karada blames herself for it.
EPISODE 11 - Karada decides to tell Tetsu the truth of her identity.
EPISODE 12 - Before Kotomi goes home back to her father, she has one last special gift to give to Shoko.

VIDEO:

“Living for the Day After Tomorrow” is a vibrant anime TV series presented in 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen. At times, the animation ranges from simple to detailed but the artistic backgrounds are quite nice and the fact that the characters are constantly in the move, there are hardly backgrounds that are being reused.

In fact, there are many times where the backgrounds are like pastel to lush watercolors, some scenes look as if they were colored pencil but for the most part, these backgrounds are absolutely beautiful. Character designs are mixed. Farther shots are not as detailed but closeups really show the anguish, anger, happiness and sadness on the character’s faces. So, for the most part, the series looks very good.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Audio for “Living for the Day After Tomorrow” is in Japanese only and in stereo (2.0) while subtitles are in English. So, it’s a front channel driven soundtrack but I preferred to watch the series with my receiver set with stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundscape. The series is dialogue driven, so there is not much in terms of special effects and surround usage. But the Japanese soundtrack that is satisfactory for this type of anime series and the voice acting is well-done.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Living for the Day After Tomorrow – Complete Collection” comes with the clean opening and closing themes plus Sentai Filmworks trailers.

I enjoyed “Living for the Day After Tomorrow”. It’s definitely a touching anime series that deals with misunderstandings but also an interesting and unique anime series about a woman who was scorned by her lover for his younger sister and the woman Shoko and the young girl Karada having to switch bodies and having to depend on each other.

Sure, the storyline has been done via “Freaky Friday” and in that film, daughter learns about her mother’s lifestyle and mother learns about what her daughter has to put up in high school. But for “Living for the Day After Tomorrow”, young Karada has to grow up quickly and be put in the role of a woman trying to support herself while Shoko has to deal with life with her new body but also having to deal with having to stay at the home of her ex-boyfriend and all those hurtful memories consuming her.

But one of the major problems I have with the series is the look and age of the characters. Karada and Tetsumasa are young jr. high school students but somehow, Tetsumasa looks like an older teenager while Karada looks and dresses like an 8 or 9-year-old girl. And when Karada becomes a grownup, she looks like a girl that is the same age of Tetsumasa and both are the same height. Granted, Karada is a short girl and when she grows up, she will be short but I just felt the age was quite off for these two characters who are supposed to be the same age. But despite my feeling towards the age of the characters and their character designs, I really did enjoy “Living for the Day After Tomorrow” a lot.

I have not read the original manga series but I heard the manga differs in the fact that there are people who are after the wishing stones and want to use it for their own use, while in the anime series, it’s a series about relationships, friendship and having to deal with one’s predicament while another realizes that they were running away from the problem and not facing the problem directly.

Overall, “Living for the Day After Tomorrow” is a very good anime drama series. No dealing with love triangles or anything like that. So, it’s pretty cool to have something different and yet, so enjoyable. Definitely an anime series worth checking out!

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 12, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Another entertaining and solid DVD release for fans of the Nickelodeon hit show “iCarly”! The “iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx” DVD features two TV movies, two episodes and a bonus pilot all for a low price!

DVD TITLE: iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx

DURATION: 139 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen, Dolby Digital – English Stereo

COMPANY: Nickelodeon/Paramount Home Entertainment

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: March 30, 2010

Created by Dan Schneider

Directed by Adam Weissman

Written by Jake Farrow, Andrew Hill Newman

Executive Producer: Dan Schneider

Associate Producer: Sean Gill

Costume Design by Kristin Dangl

Featuring the voices of:

Miranda Cosgrove as Carla Shay

Jennette McCurdy as Sam Puckett

Nathan Kress as Freddie Benson

Jerry Trainor as Spencer Shay

Noah Munck as Gibby

Mary Scheer as Marissa Benson

Colin Spensor as Wesley

Needless to say, the show is a big success for the cable network and now “iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx” is planned for release on March 30, 2010.

The latest DVD includes two iCarly movies from the second season and two episodes from the third. Included on “iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx” are:

EPISODE 49-50 – “iFight Shelby Marx” – In this TV movie, Carly was talking a little trash on her web show about the martial-arts champ Shelby Marx. When Shelby comes to visit her, Carly is afraid that she is going to get beaten up but finds out that Shelby wants to join forces with Carly in a one round match for charity and that she will not hurt her at all. But during the press conference, Carly accidentally falls on Shelby’s grandmother offstage and Nevel Papperman takes advantage of the situation and now Shelby wants to hurt her in the ring.
EPISODE 43-44 – “iDate a Bad Boy” – In this TV movie, Carly starts dating a bad boy named Griffin who tried to steal Spencer’s motorcycle. Spencer prohibits Carly from dating him but she tries to sneak behind his back. Meanwhile, Carly learns a major secret about her Griffin.
EPISODE 39 – “iLook Alike” – Carly, Sam and Freddie want to interview an MMA fighter Jackson Colt but Freddie’s mom forbids him to go to an MMA fight and also Spencer forbids Carly from going as well. So, the three come up with an idea to find lookalikes to stand for them while they do the interview.
EPISODE 54 – “iCarly Awards” – Carly, Sam and Freddie present the first “iCarly Awards” for fans who have sent in videos but on the day of the Award show, Spencer mistakens Carly’s request to create ten awards by creating one huge award. Now, Spencer must find a way to create them in a short amount of time, while Carly and Sam improvise the award show until each award is finished.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx” is presented in standard definition and in full screen. Picture quality is good considering there are two movies, two episodes and a pilot episode of “Big Time Rush” included on the DVD. There is compression artifacting and edge enhancement but for the audience being targeted, I doubt many will be that picky over picture quality.

Audio is presented in English stereo and dialogue and music is clear as it comes from the front channels. Dialogue is understandable and experienced no major problems during viewing.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx” comes with the following special features:

Behind-the-Scenes Extras:

- Meet Lewbert – (1:44) A featurette with Jeremy Rowley who plays the character of Lewbert the Doorman. Jeremy talks about his character and the makeup.

- Message Board – (2:38) Nathan Kress, Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy answer a few fan questions from the icarly.com message board.

Pilot Episode of “Big Time Rush” – (47:57) The full pilot episode to Nickelodeon’s “Big Time Rush”. A series about four guys who become a popular boy band who move to Hollywood.

My young son was a big “Drake & Josh” fan and has since graduated from that series and now enjoys “iCarly”.

For “iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx”, I feel that this is a solid release for those who are fans of the show (or parents curious about purchasing the series for their kids) when it comes to content. Two movies, two episodes and a bonus pilot episode for “Big Time Rush” is included.

There are two episodes that deal with martial fighters, in “iFight Shelby Marx”, Carly gets a light in the face and in “iLook Alike”, a fighter throws Spencer through a table. In two episodes, Carly goes against her brother (legal guardian) when he tells her to stop seeing the bad boy in “iDate a Bad Boy” and finding lookalikes to substitute for them on the “iLook Alike” episode. In the pilot episode of “Big Time Rush”, you have four guys singing a song about “turd”.

Overall, “iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx” was an entertaining DVD. Again, my young son absolutely loves this show and he enjoyed watching the episodes (again) on DVD. I wouldn’t be surprised if other children are feel the same way and seeing how the ratings are pretty strong for “iCarly”, many will have interest for this DVD.

Two TV movies, two episodes from “iCarly” and one bonus pilot episode of “Big Time Rush” on one DVD for a great price. If you or if you are a parent of a child who loves “iCarly”, “iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx” is a DVD worth checking out.

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob’s Last Stand (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 4, 2010 by Dennis Amith · 2 Comments

Featuring one never-before-seen episode plus six new-to-DVD episodes, “SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob’s Last Stand” showcases the popular animated show’s craziness and humor via SpongeBob and the gang! An entertaining and family fun DVD release!

DVD TITLE: SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob’s Last Stand

DURATION: 89 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen, Dolby Digital – English Stereo

COMPANY: Paramount Home Entertainment

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2010

Created by Stephen Hillenburg

Written by Stephen Hillenburg, Derek Drymon, Paul Tibbit, Richard Pursel, Dani Michaeli, Casey Alexander, Luke Brookshier, Zeus Cervas, Nate Cash

Featuring the voices of:

Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants

Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star

Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles

Clancy Brown as Mr. eugene H. Krabs

Mr. Lawrence as Plankton

Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks

Sirena Irwin as Lady Fish

In the never-before seen episode, SpongeBob’s Last stand, all chaos breaks loose in Bikini Bottom when SpongeBob and Patrick hear that a new highway will be running through Jellyfish fields, outraged they decide to protest; SpongeBob style. Plus, don’t miss out on the other new-to-DVD adventures that will surely keep you laughing.

For over a decade, “SpongeBob SquarePants” has become such a tremendous hit for Nickelodeon and an animated series that many children have grown up with. A popular franchise which includes video games, the character featured on a variety of food products, toys, health-related items and more. Needless to say, “SpongeBob SquarePants”, although not a series shown on broadcast television, has managed to become a character that is part of American pop culture and still shows no signs of waning, especially with a new group of young viewers every year.

Created by Stephen Hillenburg in 1999, “SpongeBob SquarePants” is an animated series about a group of characters that live in the underwater city known as “Bikini Bottom”.

The main character of “SpongeBob SquarePants” are:

SpongeBob SquarePants - A energetic and naive sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea with his pet snail Gary and works as a cook for The Krusty Krab. He enjoys hanging out with his best friend Patrick.
Patrick Star – A pink starfish and the best friend of SpongeBob. Known for his ignorance and stupidity but still a good friend to SpongeBob.
Squidward Tentacles – An egotistical cephalopod (squid or octopus) who works as a cashier at the Krusty Krab and although he doesn’t care for SpongeBob, he tolerates him.
Sandy Cheeks – A squirrel who is a science genius and lives in an underwater dome who hails from Texas.
Mr. Krabs – The money-loving boss of The Krusty Krab restaurant and boss of SpongeBob and Squidward.
Plankton – The nemesis of Mr. Krabs who runs the rival restaurant, The Chum Bucket.

On March 16, 2010, a new DVD titled “SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob’s Last Stand” featuring a never-before-seen episode titled “SpongeBob’s Last Stand” plus six new-to-DVD episodes will be released. Included on the DVD are the following episodes:

Spongebob’s Last Stand – With a Super Highway being developed on Jellyfish Fields forcing the jellyfish to move to another location. SpongeBob, Patrick and Mr. Krabs do whatever they can to stop the development of the highway.
Pet or Pests – SpongeBob adopts a stray worm who gives birth to more baby worms.
Komputer Overload – Karen (Plankton’s Computer Wife) has had enough of Plankton and leaves him.
Overbooked - SpongeBob needs to meet with three people at the same time, how can it happen? Fortunately, Sandy has a new invention to make it all possible.
No Hat for Pat – Patrick wants the same “Krusty Krab” hat as SpongeBob, thus Patrick becomes a new employee at the restaurant.
Toy Store of Doom – What happens with SpongeBob and Patrick spend a night at a toystore?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob’s Last Stand” is featured in full screen and audio is featured in Dolby Digital English Stereo. Dialogue is front channel driven and understandable.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob’s Last Stand” comes with the following special features:

SpongeBob SquarePants – (2:11) A sneak peak to the upcoming “SpongeBob SquarePants – Neptune’s Party” DVD release.
Bollywood Bob – (1:52) A Bollywood music video with people dancing to a Bollywood style of the “SpongeBob SquarePants” theme.
How to Make SpongeBob SquarePants – (5:25) A crafts featurette featuring how one created SpongeBob SquarePants using a real sponge.
Karaoke Music Videos – Two karaoke music videos (with optional karaoke titles) – “Save Jellyfish Fields” and “Jellyfishing Song” from the “SpongeBob’s Last Stand” episode.

My home is “SpongeBob SquarePants” mania for my seven-year-old. For the past two years, he has been a big fan of the animated series and has wanted everything that the character is featured on, may it be yogurt to toothpaste, he is a SpongeBob maniac and thus, he was excited when I watched this DVD alongside with him. I can’t help but think that if my son is this way, I can imagine how in the last decade, parents had to deal with their children loving this animated series and wanting SpongeBob this and SpongeBob that.

My wife have found the “SpongeBob SquarePants” a hilarious and fun series. Especially when interacting with your kids, especially with the family singing along with the theme song. For the most part, six of the seven episodes have been shown on the various Nickelodeon channels many times but if my son is any indication to how a few young children are with the series, watching it multiple times is not a bad thing for them and they seem to welcome watching the episodes over again.

Overall, if your children or if you are a fan of the series, “SpongeBob’s Last Stand” is a fun DVD release. You get the never-before-seen episode of “SpongeBob’s Last Stand” and six new-to-DVD episodes plus a few entertaining special features including the “How to Make SpongeBob SquarePants” which left my son in awe.

If you are looking for a good gift for a your child or a friend/family member’s child, looking for a good commute video to keep the kids quiet during a drive, “SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob’s Last Stand” is definitely a release worth picking up!

Filed Under: DVD Reviews

Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

February 25, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

An animated film filled with humor and adventure, “Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey” is an awesome sequel to the first “Curious George” film. Absolute fun for the entire family!

DVD TITLE: Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey

DURATION: 81 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Anamorphic Widescreen 1:78:1, English Dolby Digital 5.1, Espanol and Francais Dolby Digital 2.0, Subtitles: English SDH, Espanol and Francais

COMPANY: Universal Animation Studios/Universal Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G

RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2010

Directed by Norton Virgien

Screenplay by Chuck Tately

Executive Producer: David Kirschner, Jon Shapiro

Produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Share Stallings

Music by Heitor Pereira

Edited by John Bryant

Casting by Susan Blu

Featuring the voices of:

Jeff Bennett as Ted

Jamie Kennedy as Danno Wolfe

Tim Curry as Piccadilly

Jeff McNeal as Kayla

Fred Tatsciore as Mr. Bloomsberry

Matt Lauer as Hark Hanson

Tripti Potdukhe as Anna

Nickie Bryar as Maggie

Jerry Lewis as Stationmaster

Frank Welker as the voice of the cow

The world’s most beloved and inquisitive monkey is back in “Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey”, the fun-filled sequel to the hit animated movie. Join Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat as they set out on a madcap cross-country adventure to reunite Kayla, a homesick elephant, with her family. This unlikely trio faces all types of comic calamities and colorful characters and in the end learn that with family, friends and determination you can achieve anything. Featuring the voices of Tim curry, Matt Lauer, Jamie Kennedy and Jerry Lewis, Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey,” “proves that family, friends – and curiousity – are number one.” (Francine Brokaw, Los Angels Family Magazine)

The popular curious monkey is back once again in another adventure along with Ted and a new friend named Kayla in a cross-country adventure filled with action and humor!

With the success of the first “Curious George” film back in 2006, the popular character from the children stories by H.A. and Margret Rey makes his return to the sequel “Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey” in a direct-to-DVD release (note: the film made its world premiere last Summer in several countries) from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

In “Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey”, Mr. Bloombsberry wants Ted (played by Jeff Bennett) to become the next museum director. Excited about his job, he now needs to impress the museum’s Board of Director’s and has been too busy focusing on his work. With the Piccadilly Circus coming to town, George wants Ted to take him to the circus and Maggie wants Ted to spend more time with her. But he is too focused on working on his presentation.

But nevertheless, he feels he does owe it to George to take him to the Piccadilly Circus and somehow, the two get selected to go up on stage by the magician Piccadilly (played by Tim Curry). But George as curious as ever, ends up at the bottom of the stage and meets a new friend named Kayla, an elephant from the circus who has the talent of juggling and ends up breaking him out of the circus. Government investigators led by Danno Wolfe (played by Jamie Kennedy) are called in to find out on what happened to Kayla the elephant and why its missing. Meanwhile, George is missing as well.

George and Kayla end up walking through the city together with George taking back Kayla to his home. George and Kayla then watch a newscast in which Hark Hanson (played by NBC’s “Today Show” host Matt Lauer) talks about the missing elephant and how he lived in California with his siblings. George realizes that Kayla is homesick and missing his family. Meanwhile, as a search for the elephant continues and news reports saying that the elephant was stolen, Ted goes back home and finds out that George and Kayla have been at the residence all this time. This is the last thing he needs to deal with because he has to prepare for his presentation to the museum Board of Directors.

But before he can make the call to have Kayla returned, George decides to help Kayla go back home to California by going to the train station. And thus, Ted goes after them and finds the two inside a train box car. As he tries to convince them that they need to get out of the box car, the train starts moving and the next thing you know, the three are stuck inside and now are being taken cross country in the middle of nowhere.

Meanwhile, the investigation starts to center on Ted as the main suspect in Kayla’s disappearance and people including Ted’s boss Mr. Bloomsberry and even Maggie believe there must be a reason why Ted may have escaped with Kayla. Ted knows he’s in a deep mess but hopefully he can clear his name. But for George, all he wants is to make sure Kayla the elephant sees his brother and sister.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey” is featured in anamorphic widescreen (1:78:1). Featuring the same vibrant style and painted backgrounds along with CG incorporated from the first film, “Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey” manages to capture the characters and the world of “Curious George” quite well. Featuring a pretty colorful pallet, and beautiful artistic backgrounds, fans of the first film will no doubt enjoy the animation used in the sequel.

As for audio, audio is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish and French Dolby Digital 2.0. Audio quality is nice and clear, dialogue is understandable and music is also crystal clear through the front and center channels.

Subtitles are in English SDH, Espanol and Francais.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey” comes with the following special features:

Curious George’s Cross Country Caper Game – Using your DVD remote control, you can help George and Kayla travel throughout the country safely.
“Hold On, Here We Go” Music Video – (2:25) Featuring an animated video with clips from the film.
DVD-Rom – By playing the DVD on a computer (DVD-Rom Drive), you can access printable coloring pages, wallpapers and more.
Bonus TV episodes – Featuring two never-before-seen TV episodes (around 12 minutes each) from the new TV season of “Curious George” – “A Monkey’s Duckling” in which a baby duckling thinks George is its mother. In “George’s Super Subway Adventure”, George as curious as always, hops aboard a subway in the city without Ted and thus Ted tries to go after him.

In my household, “Curious George” has been a big part of my young son’s upbringing. From the animated television series, to the coloring books, reading books and the first film, I watched “Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey” alongside with him and he absolutely loved it and giggling at many parts of the film.

As for me, I enjoyed the film. As usual, George’s curiosity tends to get Ted in a bit of a bind and in this case, a fun adventure throughout the country. The sequel also features a good number of talent such as Tim Curry as Picadilly the magician, Jamie Kennedy as investigator “Danno” Wolfe, Matt Lauer as news host Hark Hanson, Jerry Lewis as the stationmaster, Frank Welker as a cow, Amy Hill as a flower pot lady and many others with short vocal cameos.

Where the first film featured adventure and the romance between Ted and Maggie, there is less of the relationship factor between the two adults but focusing on the adventure of Ted, George and Kayla ad featuring a message to those who tend to put work ahead of their love ones. But for the most part, this is a fun “Curious George” film.

In a parent standpoint, for me…I felt the film was quite safe but there is one segment in the film which Ted, George and Kayla meet new friends who own a farm and the son of the farmer is jumping high and landing in a haystack and then they all take part in the jumping of the haystack. My son thought that was such a cool thing and wondered if he can go up high and land on things and thus, it’s important to talk to your child about those type of situations and making sure that he/she knows that they can’t jump high from anything and land on whatever.

As for the DVD, it’s a pretty entertaining and educational DVD with a game, DVD-Rom features such as coloring pages and wallpaper, two never-before-seen TV episodes and more.

Overall, “Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey” is just as entertaining as the original animated film. A lot of fun, humor, beautiful and vibrant animation and both myself and my seven-year-old enjoyed the film/DVD and I imagine parents and their children would enjoy this DVD release as well! Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Manhattan Melodrama (from the Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

February 21, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The first pairing of Hollywood’s onscreen super couple William Powell and Myrna Loy plus another hit for Clark Gable!

DVD TITLE: Manhattan Melodrama (from the Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection)

DURATION: 90 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, 1:33:1, Subtitles: English and French

COMPANY: Warner Bros.

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: August 7, 2007

Directed by W.S. Van Dyke

Story by Arthur Caesar

Screenplay by Oliver H.P. Garrett, Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Produced by David O. Selznick

Cinematography by James Wong Howe

Edited by Ben Lewis

Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons

Starring:

Clark Gable as Edward J. “Blackie” Gallagher

William Powell as James W. “Jim” Wade

Myrna Loy as Eleanor Packer

Mickey Rooney as young “Blackie”

Jimmy Butler as young “Jim”

Leo Carrillo as Father Joe

Nat Pendleton as Spud “Spuddie”

George Sidney as Poppa Rosen

Isabel Jewell as Annabelle

Muriel Evans as Tootsie Malone

1934 and “Manhattan Melodrama” would become one of the most talked about films of that year. The film directed by W.S. Van Dyke (“San Francisco”, “The Thin Man”, “Marie Antoinette”) and featuring a pairing of hot film stars Clark Gable (“Gone with the Wind”, “It Happened One Night”, “Mutiny on the Bounty”), William Powell (“Thin Man”, “The Great Ziegfeld”, “Ziegfeld Follies”) and Myrna Loy (“The Thin Man”, “Evelyn Prentice”, “Meet Me in St. Louis”), the film would be another success for Clark Gable which he filmed an even more successful romantic comedy “It Happened One Night” which came out two months prior. The film would also become the first official pairing of William Powell and Myrna Loy who would become Hollywood’s favorite onscreen super couple and the two would go on to make 14 films with each other including the popular “Thin Man” film series.

“Manhattan Melodrama” would earn writer Arthur Caesar an Academy Award for “Best Story” and the studio would also use gangster John Dillinger’s death as a way to promote the film (Dillinger was shot to death by agents after coming out of the Chicago Theater after watching “Manhattan Melodrama”). Interesting enough, the film would also feature the early version of a song known then as “The Bad in Every Man” but rewritten later by Lorenz Hart as the popular hit song “Blue Moon”.

“Manhattan Melodrama” is a film about two good friends who were raised as brothers and would grow up to become friends and rivals.

During their earlier years as kids, Edward “Blackie” Gallagher (played by Mickey Rooney) and young James “Jim” Wade (played by Jimmy Butler) were good friends but Blackie had a mischievous side of causing trouble while Jim was always on the straight and narrow. On June 15, 1904, as the two ride with their families on the General Slocum, a steam ship on New York’s East River, the ship which was carrying members of the St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church to a church picnic caught fire (note: a real life incident in which 1,021 of 1,342 people were killed and was New York’s worst disaster until 9/11).

With Blackie and Jim without parents, a grieving father named Poppa Rosen who lost his only son takes the boys in to live with him and the two are raised like brothers. But the family life is short-lived as Poppa Rosen, a Russian Jew was killed after being trampled by a policeman’s horse after being a hit by someone supporting Leon Trotsky at a communist rally.

The film then fast forwards to 1920, where an adult Blackie (played by Clark Gable) is now a racketeer who owns an illegal casino and involved with some criminal activity while Jim has become a law graduate of Columbia University and is consideration for the DA’s office.

For Blackie, he’s happy that he can continue his business and spend time with his girlfriend Eleanor (played by Myrna Loy). One day, while Blackie was to meet with Jim and take him out to the Cotton Club to congratulate him on his win and his first step into becoming a politician, he is unable to make the event and thus he sends Eleanor in his place.

For Eleanor, she is shocked by how different Jim is from Blackie. He’s courteous, he puts his attention towards her and makes her feel like a woman. When Jim escorts Eleanor home, he accidentally leaves his jacket inside her place. Meanwhile, when Blackie returns home, Eleanor can’t stop talking about how Jim is such a wonderful guy and wishes Blackie was more like him. She tells him that through her day with him, she realizes what she wants in life and that is a family man and wants Blackie to change his ways. But of course, Blackie has no intention of changing and so she leaves him.

Time has past and changes are in store for both Blackie and Jim.

As for Blackie, his life into crime becomes more deeper when he and his men setup a guy who owes them money. Upset with how his life is going, he kills the man and manages to escape the scene of the crime. The only problem is that the coat that belongs to Jim was accidentally left at the crime scene.

Meanwhile, life is going good for Jim. A District Attorney who is making things happen and starts dating Eleanor who eventually becomes his fiance. But things become complicated when Jim and everyone suspects Blackie of killing the man. Although Blackie did murder the man, Jim is protective of his good friend and refuses to believe he had anything to do with it.

This causes friction amongst Jim and his co-workers because not only do they know his fiance was Blackie’s ex-girlfriend but also Jim had grown up with Blackie when they were younger and thus rumors are swirling that Jim has not pursued the murder case because of his closeness to Blackie.

This sets up a situation in which two good friends who were raised as brothers must now become rivals as Jim is dedicated to eliminating the criminals of New York City and that means taking down Blackie if he is involved in crime.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Manhattan Melodrama” is in black and white and in full screen. Picture quality is good considering this film is over 75-years-old but there are some noticeable scratches and dust that do appear but not so bad that it distracts you. There were some scenes in which you can tell, some frames may have been missing (earlier in the beginning) but for the most part, blacks are nice and deep. Grays and whites are good and for the most part, the original negative seems to be in good condition as the transfer is solid.

The film is presented in Monaural Dolby Digital. The film is center channel driven but for those with a modern receiver may want to select stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundtrack (depending on their speaker setup). Dialogue is clear and understandable.

Subtitles are in English SDH and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Manhattan Melodrama” comes with the following special features:

Goofy Movies #2 – (9:18) A short black and white film utilizing older silent film footage to tell a fun narrated story.
The Old Pioneer – (7:55) A color animated short featuring an old Cowboy telling a young boy of his adventures against the Indians.
Theatrical Trailer – (2:48) The original theatrical trailer.

As a fan of the onscreen pairing of Myrna Loy and William Powell, especially for the “Thin Man” films, I felt that I had to watch the first official pairing of both talents and that was “Manhattan Melodrama” which is part of the “Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection”.

The film was actually quite interesting as it featured Clark Gable, William Powell and Myrna Loy together in one film. But how it used a tragic part of American History into the film and for the most part, building this storyline with two youngsters growing up in two different paths. But what I enjoyed about “Manhattan Melodrama” is that, many films use the cliche of two brothers growing up, one is a cop and one is a criminal. In this case, Powell’s character Jim is a DA turned politician but also a man with a heart.

These are two individuals who are different from one another but despite the two being on the opposite side from each other, the two have faced so much tragedy that they respect and protect each other. But when circumstances pit them against each other, it’s how the the characters are handled and this is where Arthur Caesar is deserving of his Academy Award by crafting a good film but making sure the character development is on target and that these two men are believable.

Clark Gable and William Powell are great in this film and as for Myrna Loy, she definitely showed promise but I think it was the two working on “The Thin Man” is where we see the movie magic between William Powell and Myrna Loy. The two have great chemistry with each other and this film definitely showed potential that these two looked great on the big screen together.

As for the DVD of “Manhattan Melodrama”, the DVD was good and you do get a few special features included such as the two shorts and the trailer but nothing more than that. Fortunately, the film comes bundled in the “Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection” which comes with four other films: “Evelyn Prentice”, “Double Wedding”, “I Love You Again” and “Love Crazy”. If you enjoy both Powell and Loy, this box set is definitely worth owning!

Overall, “Manhattan Melodrama” is not a complex film but it’s a character driven film that depends on the performances on its three star talents. Fortunately, Gable, Powell and Loy did a remarkable job and although it’s too early for me to say if it is the best film on the whole set, the film was entertaining and definitely worth catching!

Again, if you are a fan of William Powell and Myrna Loy, I definitely recommend the “Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection”! Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Classic Hollywood DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

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