Pads & Panels

Title: Get the Gringo

MPAA Rating: R

Directed by: Adrian Grunberg

Written by: Mel Gibson, Adrian Grunberg

Starring: Mel Gibson, Kevin Hernandez, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Dolores Heredia

Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Rating:

Review by: Matt Peters

A fair warning to those with phobias, the opening scene of this film features clowns. It’s not just a quick look at clowns, no. This is a prolonged chase featuring Mel Gibson wearing a full on clown mask. Some may take this as a sign that he’s got a sense of humor about his recent behavior. Others may view this as a clear sign that it’s all downhill from here.

As the title and cast list would lead you to believe, the film does in fact take place in Mexico. Gibson’s character, who is never specifically named, hops the border to escape US law enforcement after stealing from a crime lord. (more…)

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Title: John Carter

Format: Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Directed by: Andrew Stanton

Written by: Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, Michael Chabon

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Willem Dafoe

Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment

Film Rating:

Blu-ray 3D Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

John Carter may be best known in retrospect as a bad business decision. One that saw a lot of money spent and not nearly as much made. And that comes, I think, primarily from its source material.

John Carter is the kind of fiction that has attained a certain cult status – an incredibly loyal contingent of followers staunchly stand by the Edgar Rice Burroughs sci-fi adventure – but may be entirely unfamiliar to general audiences. And ultimately what happened is a group of those loyal followers pushed to get this made, and the mass audiences just weren’t there.

But that doesn’t necessarily speak to the quality of the film. Financial success doesn’t always speak to quality, of course, but in this case there does seem to be a connection. What John Carter struggles with most is finding, or creating, an identity for itself. By the end of 132 minutes, we’ve all seen a lot of fantastic things but are left caring about very little of it. (more…)

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Title: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Format: Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Directed by: Stephen Daldry

Written by: Eric Roth

Starring: Tom Hanks, Thomas Horn, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright, Max von Sydow

Studio:Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Rating:

Review by: Sarah Jones

The Film

Almost everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they found out about the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. Some were directly affected, knowing someone who was killed in the attacks or in the rescue efforts.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close portrays such a story, but it is also a story about trying to move on after losing a loved one and trying to find meaning in the pieces they leave behind. (more…)

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Title: Baseball’s Greatest Games: 2011 World Series, Games 6

Format: Blu-ray

Studio: A+E Networks

Game Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Jon DePaolis

The Game

All cards on the table, I absolutely hate it when people deem something an instant classic. I hate it when ESPN pushes product by calling a first-round playoff basketball game an instant classic just because it goes to overtime. No, a classic gets its status because it changes the way someone views a sport or is so superior to anything anyone has seen in recent memory.

So take heed when I write, as much as it pains this Cubs fan’s heart to write, Game 6 of the 2011 World Series is an instant classic. And the fine folks at Major League Baseball Productions agree, as they have already packaged Game 6 as an addition to its “Baseball’s Greatest Games” series with A+E Networks. (more…)

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Title: IMAX Born to Be Wild

Format: Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: G

Directed by: David Lickley

Written by: Drew Fellman

Narrated by: Morgan Freeman

Studio: Warner Bros.

Feature Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Feature

Another nature film narrated by the great Morgan Freeman, IMAX Born to Be Wild tells several stories of the bond between humans and animals. It focuses on two areas in particular — the rainforests of Borneo, where primatologist Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas rescues, rehabilitates and returns the animals to the wild; and the Kenyan savannah, where Dr. Dame Daphne M. Sheldrick does the same, but with elephants. (more…)

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Title: War Horse

Format: 4-Disc Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Written by: Lee Hall, Richard Curtis

Starring: Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Peter Mullan, Niels Arestrup, Jeremy Irvine

Studio: Touchstone Home Entertainment, Dreamworks Pictures

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

War Horse is unique in that it essentially tells the story of a war from the perspective of an animal used in war. It features a number of human characters, the most prominent of which is Albert (Jeremy Irvine), the son of the owner of the horse Joey sold off to the cavalry, but ultimately the story is about the horse and what it endures in the midst of this human war.

But despite the promising premise and the acclaim it has received, War Horse is a disjointed, overly long film that lacks direction and more so focus in its execution, leaving viewers with a film that puts forth a lot of effort but fails to hit its mark. It boils down to a lot of action and moments, but the only lasting impression I had was one particularly amusing grammar joke made in the midst of some self-awareness that the Germans in this film speak English, but with accents. (more…)

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Title: Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention

Format: Blu-ray

Created by: Nick Park

Starring: Peter Sallis, Ashley Jensen, Jem Stansfield

Studio: Lionsgate, Aardman

Series Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Series

Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention saw a six-episode run in 2010 that brought together Aardman Animations’ flagship characters, Wallace and Gromit, and live video coverage of inventors and their wild inventions from around the world. The result is a show hosted by Nick Park’s fantastic clay characters and their special brand of humor, rolling to clips of fascinating people in the vein of classic educational shows using cartoon characters to draw in the kids.

The episodes come themed, from nature to space, home inventions to the senses, safety to transportation. The jokes are on par with what Wallace & Gromit fans have come to expect, while the clips find some insanely interesting people and stories to put on display. The show is ultimately fascinating, and it’s just a shame that it didn’t last longer. (more…)

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Title: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Format: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Directed by: Rupert Wyatt

Written by: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver

Starring: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, Andy Serkis

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

It’s a wonder Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ ad campaign didn’t completely derail the film’s success. It was hard not be skeptical of the return of the series after the overly cheesy trailer teases of Ceasar unlocking his cage with a makeshift device, a sinister shot of apes looking down on a man in a rotunda and a gorilla jumping at a helicopter in a scene that drew comparisons to King Kong (and that’s not to mention the bad taste the 2001 Mark Wahlberg remake left in our mouths). It unfortunately made a cheesy trailer of what turned out to be a stylish summer blockbuster with incredible special effects, an engaging story and a groundbreaking performance by Andy Serkis. (more…)

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Title: Justice League: Doom

Format: Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy

MPAA: PG-13

Directed by: Lauren Mongomery

Written by: Dwayne McDuffie (Based on a story by Mark Waid)

Starring: Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Susan Eisenberg, Michael Rosenbaum, Nathan Fillion,

Produced by: Lauren Montgomery, Bruce Timm

Studio: Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment, Warner Home Video

Film Rating:

Bluray Rating:

Review by: Matt Peters

Next in a long line of DC Comics direct-to-DVD movies is Justice League: Doom. Based on the “Tower of Babel” storyline featured in DC’s JLA revival from the late 90’s, the movie itself was interpreted by the late Dwayne McDuffie. Originally penned by Mark Waid, “Tower of Babel” tells the tale of a Justice League destroyed using very specific tactics for each member which could only be executed by one of their own. McDuffie was a legend in the DC animated world, and most of the original voice cast is back for JL: Doom. Unfortunately, even the perfect ingredients don’t always bear the best results. (more…)

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Title: Fright Night 3D

Format: Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: R

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Written by: Marti Noxon

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Tennant, Toni Collette

Studio: Dreamworks Pictures, Touchstone Entertainment

Film Rating:

3D Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

A remake of Tom Holland’s 1985 “my neighbor may be a vampire” flick, Craig Gillespie’s Fright Night may not be altogether necessary, but that doesn’t stop it from being a heck of a lot of fun. It offers just the right blend of scares, big moments, humor and performances to make it a standout in the genre.

Anton Yelchin (Like Crazy, Terminator Salvation) plays Charley Brewster, a suburban nerd of a teenager who somehow lands the school’s hot blonde Amy (Imogen Poots). Colin Farrell plays neighbor Jerry Dandridge who is quite possibly a vampire whose good looks are catching the attention of Charley’s mom, Jane (Toni Collette). (more…)

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