This is, without a doubt, the smartest thing I have ever seen a film company do before. They have all these films that have some requests for a release, but they wouldn't fund a general DVD release. Instead of making us sweat it out and watch bad dupes and horrid VHS versions of these films. And paying top dollar for them as well, I'd like to add. Warner Brothers has hit upon a goldmine. Hopefully, other companies will see this and follow suit. I am referring to The Warner Brothers Archive Collection. It's a little like POD (Publish On Demand) Warner Brothers lists movies that they have the masters for. You select what you want. They make them and send them on their merry way. It's genius! I recently received BAD RONALD, DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK and a huge five disc OUR GANG set. These are the best any of these have ever looked. I have horrible dupes of the two horror flicks that I have watched numerous times and they NEVER looked this good. Clear, sharp pictures with the colors that were intended to be seen. Well, except for OUR GANG, but that's black and white and looking pretty damned crisp if you ask me. For the true collector, Warner Brothers Archive is a dream come true. Now, if they own Killdozer I'm gonna need that and I saw that they have Urgh, A Music War, been looking for that for a while. Oh yeah and there's.....
Time to see what is up in the world of television and those lovely box sets that make it possible for us to have lives no longer under the steel grip of the television overlords.
Just kidding, but here are a plethora of television box sets from around the globe!
Once again, kidding. I'm pretty sure all of this stuff is American made or, at the very least, Canadian. (No offense, Canadians, you brew a lovely beer and I am a big fan of your bacon).
Now, on to the reviews!
SUPERNATURAL Season Four
Season Four! Man, it felt like this thing just came out. And it's up to season four??? I caught a couple of episodes way back when and it was alright. Not really my cup of tea, but okay. I perused the box set and found nothing to really change my opinion one way or the other.
TWO AND A HALF MEN Season Six
This one of my new favorite reruns on Fox to watch. Sheen and Cryer are excellent together and the kid is funny too. I have always been a Cryer fan and it's good to see him still making the funny. Excellent sitcom with and excellent cast. This show can stay around forever.
ONE TREE HILL Season Six
I never watched this show. Upon viewing a few episodes from this set I can also say I haven't missed anything. The girls are pretty and the drama is pretty cookie cutter fare. I'm guessing that the pretty girls have kept this around for six seasons. Yeah, the pretty girls, that's the ticket.
SMALLVILLE Season Eight
Shouldn't this show be called Lois and Clark by now? I mean he's in Metropolis so, what's left to say. Over the years this show has messed around with the Superboy mythos enough to make me more than a little nauseous and this season is really no exception. Are we, as comic fans, really this hard up for stuff like this/ Cartoon Network's Brave And The Bold is infinitely better than this crap and more fun to boot.
FRINGE Season One
I tried this one out. Yeah, I'm gonna use my memories of X-Files to keep me warm instead. I get what they are trying to do here, but I think they are trying to hard and it shows. The lenticular box is pretty cool though.
SCOOBY DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? Volume Three
It's classic Scooby. There is nothing better in the known universe. I wish they would just put them all in one huge box set. That would make it better.
Nothing spectacular up there, is there? Nope, with the exception of Scooby Doo, of course. And sure, Two And A Half Men is pretty damned cool as well. Well, fear no more little campers. I have saved the best for last.
SUPERFRIENDS: THE LOST EPISODES
What do you do when you continue to make episodes of Superfriends cartoons and there is no Superfriends show on television. You air those puppies on the Superman/Batman Adventures show and everyone loves them. Now they are all here for your enjoyment and this is some pretty good stuff. Lots of guest stars, short running times per episode. This is classic Hanna Barbera at its finest and a true addition to any Superfriends fan's library. I like this so much that I'm gonna include a clip right here;
There ya go people. Enough television programming to shock as moose and as varied as...well, I don't know , but it's as varied as something, that's for sure. And I am out.
Growing up you either read Edgar Allen Poe or you don't. Of the people who read it, you either like it...or you don't. My favorite Poe story is The Cask of Amontillado. I have read all of his stuff and always enjoy it. Now, we have a comic that gives us a little insight into what makes Poe, Poe. Bereaved over the death of his wife, Edgar has been put in a sanitarium. He doesn't like it there and continually escapes and annoys the other patients so he is asked to leave. His brother is a policeman investigating a string of murders and Edgar offers to help with matters of deduction. It doesn't take long before there are references to Masque OF The Red Death, The Raven, Fall Of The House Of Usher and this is only by the second issue. Author J. Baron Mitchell knows his Poe and shows that we will be in good hands for this adventure. The artistic stylings of Dean Kotz fit the tone of the story well and give it that Victorian look with modern sensibilities. Over all POE is an excellent comic for the POE fans in the world and may help to introduce many more to the author's writings. Well done.
BOOM! Studios has released a special Comic Con exclusive of a great comic. Kill Audio is the name of a dwarf who can not be killed. Unfortunately, for him, there's this creepy dude who has it in his mind to prove that fact wrong. Kill Audio is cool with it's black and white art with splashes of red. Artist Mr. Sheldon makes this style his own with no real reference to Frank Miller's style. In a world populated with giant talking chickens. People who look like living skeletons and this other guy who is...I really have no idea, Kill Audio is probably one of the more entertaining books I have read in a while. I look forward to it's release come October from BOOM! Studios.
My rule has always been a simple one; If you want Penguin Comics to review stuff then...send us stuff. BOOM! has never been very good at this. Sure I have access to their press online stuff and can read multiple issues of amazing comics. But, it isn't the same. Primarily because I hate reading anything online that was meant to be held in your hands. Comics, books, you name it. Yeah, well I have decided to stop being a fuddy duddy and going with the fun. And to start it off I bring you this trailer for a new comic from the guys at BOOM! Enjoy it, I'm not going to say anything else and just let the trailer speak for itself. Looks like fun.
The title says it all. This is the origin of The Green Lantern. The Hal Jordan Green Lantern to be precise. And of course, we get the whole how Sinestro becomes a gigantic ass. No, no, it's okay to swear in this post because the flick is rated PG-13 and it has a few low level cuss words in it. It also has some wholesale slaughter and one horrifying scene where it implies that hundreds of lanterns meet their maker. Kind of gruesome. That being said, this is actually my second favorite of the direct to DVD releases. Wonder Woman being the first. It has some funny, some drama and a whole lot of room to give us more of this character. Sure, there's a live action flick on the horizon, but I prefer this. Another magnificent release form the people over at Warner Bros. Next up is supposed to be Superman/Batman; Public Enemies. This might be pretty cool. Anyway, here's a clip;
Okay, I am very excited about this. Apparently, Dc Comics is doing a stand alone universe book called First Wave. It is populated by pulp heroes like Doc Savage, The Spirit, The Shadow and, my personal favorite, The Avenger. This is great news and makes me excited about going to the comic shop again. I will keep all posted as things develop.
