Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Tom and Jerry Chuck Jones Collection


Tom And Jerry are the archetypes for countless cartoons. No where else is this so obvious than in the work of animator Chuck Jones.
The Chuck Jones era of Tom and Jerry cartoons began when the famed animator was engaged to head a newly formed animation department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1963. This new chapter in Jones’ career followed his nearly 30-year tenure at Warner Bros. where he honed his very distinctive style of art and comedy, creating some of the most memorable films of all time. His new arrangement with MGM led to several prominent projects including HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, the feature adaptation of THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH, and 34 theatrical short subjects featuring the studio’s most popular animated characters, Tom and Jerry.
Jones brought his own unique sensibilities to the characters of Tom & Jerry, giving the cartoons a contemporary feel, and relying more on subtlety and satire for comedy vs. the more traditional slapstick gags of the earlier Tom and Jerry cartoons. This collection from WHV brings these shorts to DVD, together for the first time, completely re-mastered in their original theatrical widescreen format for stunning picture and sound quality. The 34 shorts will be available in a two-disc set, featuring new collectible slipcase packaging and two new bonus documentaries; Tom and Jerry…and Chuck as well as Chuck Jones: Memories of a Childhood.

Here's the list of cartoons in the collection.

Tom and Jerry: Chuck Jones Collection
Penthouse Mouse (1963)
Jerry-Go-Round (1966)
The Cat Above and The Mouse Below (1964)
Love Me, Love My Mouse (1966)
Is There a Doctor in the Mouse? (1964)
Puss ‘n’ Boats (1966)
Much Ado About Mousing (1964)
Filet Meow (1966)
Snowbody Loves Me (1964)
Matinee Mouse (1966)
The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse (1964)
The A-Tom-Inable Snowman (1966)
Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of Life (1965)
Catty Cornered (1966)
Tom-ic Energy (1965)
Cat and Dupli-Cat (1966)
Bad Day at Cat Rock (1965)
O-Solar Meow (1967)
The Brothers Carry-Mouse-Off (1965)
Guided Mouse-Ille (1967)
Haunted Mouse (1965)
Rock ‘n’ Rodent (1967)
I’m Just Wild About Jerry (1965)
Cannery Rodent (1967)
Of Feline Bondage (1965)
The Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R. (1967)
The Year of the Mouse (1965)
Surf-Bored Cat (1967)
The Cat’s Me-Ouch (1965)
Shutter Bugged Cat (1967)
Duel Personality (1966)
Advance and Be Mechanized (1967)
Jerry, Jerry, Quite Contrary (1966)
Purr-Chance to Dream (1967)

And it wouldn't be Penguin Comics without a clip;

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

INKHEART



When I got this to review I had almost forgot this movie existed. I missed the theatrical release because, well because the movie didn't look like it was going to grab me. But, first a plot synopsis.
Seems there are these things called Silvertongues who when they read from a book, pull characters and things from the book. Brendan Fraser makes this mistake when he pulls characters from a book called Inkheart. Unfortunately, when you pull stuff out of a book it must be replaced. In this case it was his wife.
Now, he has to find another copy of the book and read his wife out of the book. Problem is that the characters from the book, for the most part, have no desire to go back and will do anything in their power to stop him.
Now, this sounds pretty interesting doesn't it? Yeah, then why was I looking at my watch after the halfway point? The movie just drags, which is unfortunate because the premise is sound. The young lady playing Brendan Fraser's daughter is charming and needed more to do and more screen time. The fact that they had Jennifer Connelly in the flick and she had just one line is astonishing to me. Is that really the best they could do with her?
Andy Sirkis gives us a classic scene chewing villain the like we haven't seen since Max Van Sydow played Emepror Ming so,m that was cool.
The disc comes with both the fullscreen and widescreen versions of the film and no extras worth mentioning.
I'm gonna call this one a fail.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

THE BEST OF WHO'S LINE IS IT ANYWAY?



I remember when the original UK version of this show was on. It was hilarious and, when it came to the states, they were smart enough to get a couple of the regulars from the UK shows, Namely, Colin Mockery and Ryan Stiles. It helped ground the series in the US and made it funnier than if they had been excluded.
I got this in the mail the other day and said, "oh yeah, this was pretty funny."
Then I popped it in.
I haven't laughed that hard in my life in quite some time! With guest stars like Richards Simmons, David Hasselhoff and Florence Henderson, this is a star studded set of hilarity. Seriously! I haven't laughed this hard in forever.
Here check out a clip and see if I'm lying;



See, true comedy.
Get the set. Laugh yourself purple and thank me when you get your breath back. You're welcome in advance.