|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Aug 27, 2007 0:47:44 GMT -5
Another DVD review for you good people: The Venture Bros. Season 2. 2-Disc DVD. Same show, new season. And, this season is better than the first one. When we last left the Ventures and their companions, Dr. Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture had a tumor removed from his body that turned out to be his twin brother Jonas, Jr., that he consumed in the womb. Brock’s hair got burned off, but luckily it was burnt into a nice short number. The Monarch has lost his girlfriend, Dr. Girlfriend, to that “humorless dick” Phantom Limb and was sent to prison. Henchmen Nos. 21 and 24 were out of jobs. And, the big one, Hank and Dean were NO MORE!!!! It takes some big balls to kill the title characters at the end of the first season and have the fans wondering how the show’s going to continue. But, that’s one of the reasons this show is so great. Anyway, ONTO THE EPISODES!!!! 14. "Powerless in the Face of Death"—June 25, 2006 2-20 Life goes on after the tragic deaths of Hank and Dean in this Season Two opener, though Dr. Orpheus seems to be taking it particularly hard. After a month-long sabbatical, Dr. Venture returns to find that his brother Jonas, Jr., has become a doctor himself and has completed several government projects. So, J.J. gives Rusty one of his projects to complete: a teleportation machine, which Dr. Venture tests even though it’s half-way completed and ends up in the wall, TV, and near the sewage dump of a prison. Meanwhile, the Monarch plans to escape from prison. And, we learn the INCREDIBLE secret of the Venture Bros.: SPOILERS. Hank and Dean are clones, and this is 15th death they’ve gone through. SPOILERS END. This is a good episode, and it gives a very good explanation as to how the show will continue. Though, it did seem a bit predictable to me. Nevertheless, it’s still good. Plus, you have a gay gorilla trying to rape the Monarch. I don’t know why, but I find that hilarious. 8/10. 15. "Hate Floats"—July 2, 2006 2-19 Things return to normal in the lives of the Ventures. The Monarch confronts Dr. Girlfriend in a mall food court while his new henchmen stumble upon the Venture family shopping. Then, things get out of control when the Monarch’s new henchmen take over his cocoon. This all leads to Phantom Limb and Brock Samson teaming up to rescue Dr. Girlfriend and the Ventures; Dr. Girlfriend, Hank, and Dean teaming up to rescue Phantom Limb, Brock, and Dr. Venture; and the Monarch, Henchman No. 21, Henchman No. 24, and Dr. Venture teaming up to overtake the Monarch’s cocoon. With the Monarch trying to rebuild his empire to three rescue missions going on at once, what’s not to love about this episode? Plus, Brock kills a guy by sticking the guy’s finger up his own butt. 9/10. 16. "Love-Bheits"—August 20, 2006 2-14 On their way home from a Halloween costume party, the Ventures crash land in Ünderland. Baron Ünderbheit captures them, obsessed with taking revenge on Dr. Venture, but mistakes Dean for a girl and attempts to make him the 8th Baroness of Ünderland. Meanwhile, Brock, Hank, and Dr. Venture are rescued by Catclops and Girl Hitler's underground resistance group. Another great episode with lots love. I mean, you have the Ventures losing a costume contest because Hank dressed up as Batman instead of a Star Wars character, much like the previous year when they went as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and Batman and the year before that when they went as the awesome rock group composed of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehely, and Batman. Plus, Baron Ünderbheit mistakes Dean for a girl, also hilarious and not hard to see as Dean is very skinny, effeminate, and dressed up as Princess Leia in that “Return Of The Jedi” bikini. And, there is also the resistance group of Catclops and Girl Hitler. For those of you who don’t know, in the Season 1 episode “Home Insecurity,” Baron Ünderbheit nearly killed his top assistants, Catclops (a man with a tiny cat’s head for eyes), Girl Hitler (a German woman who looks like Hitler, complete with mustache), and Manic 8-Ball (a man with an 8-ball costume and can only communicate by shaking himself, allowing for a message to appear in a porthole in his chest, like a magic 8-ball), by giving them tiger balm and then unleashing tigers with bombs attached to their stomachs. GET IT! Tiger BALM—Tiger BOMB! Anyway, they all survived with 8-Ball being tied up in Ünderbheit’s bedroom and Catclops and Girl Hitler starting a resistance group. However, said resistance group is totally useless as their idea of “resistance” is playing practical jokes. Yes, they are going to take down a powerful, Doctor Doom/Darth Vader-like dictator with flaming bags of poop and cat hair in his drinks. The best part of the episode is when Hank, Brock, and Dr. Venture try to stop the wedding of Ünderbheit and Dean, but Brock and Dr. Venture get trapped in a cell. This leaves Hank to try and take on Ünderbheit’s army by himself. Though Brock and Dr. Venture try to talk him out of it, Hank gives a passionate speech about how Dr. Venture tried to isolate and destroy the gay gene and runs off to take on the army of Ünderland, only to fall and cut his tongue on his Batman mask. 10/10. 17. "Escape to the House of Mummies Part II"—July 16, 2006 2-18 Team Venture find themselves trapped in the clutches of a bloodthirsty Egyptian cult and their time machine. Doc narrowly escapes but promptly forgets to mount a rescue when he’s distracted with a bet between him and Dr. Orpheus over whether you can shrink yourself better with science or magic. So it's up to Brock and a pantheon of history's greatest men to find another way out. This is my favorite episode of Season 2 for several reasons. One, it’s a Part 2 episode WITHOUT a part 1. Second, the main plot of Team Venture trying to escape the lair of a time-traveling Egyptian cult quickly becomes the subplot as much of the episodes focuses on Dr. Venture and Dr. Orpheus’s bet on who can shrink themselves first. Third, there are some great scenes with Dr. Orpheus interacting with his mentor in the form of a three-head dog. Fourth, the “main plot” delves into Dean being decapitated but surviving, Hank getting a pet mummy, and Brock enlisting the help of famous men from history: Caligula, Dr. Sigmund Freud, Edgar Allan Poe, and Brock from earlier in the day when the Ventures were captured. And, finally, it turns out there’s a PART III, which is never shown. 10/10. 18. "Twenty Years to Midnight"—August 6, 2006 2-17 In the middle of spring cleaning, Brock's discovery of a lost videotape from Jonas Venture Sr. sets Team Venture off on a global scavenger hunt for the hidden pieces of a fantastic and potentially deadly machine. But to save humanity from a terrible fate, they'll have to overcome death, drug addiction, Jonny Quest, and Professor Impossible, all under the watchful eye of the mysterious Grand Galactic Inquisitor. Another hilarious episode, especially for the Grand Galactic Inquisitor. He’s a 12-foot alien who’s incredibly loud and shouts “IGNORE ME!” a lot. Plus, I loved the Jonny Quest cameo, in which the former boy adventure has become a drug addict and living in a tiny submarine in the ocean. However, Professor Impossible getting stretched out in the end is a little disgusting. 9/10. 19. "Victor. Echo. November."—August 13, 2006 2-15 The Phantom Limb and Dr. Girlfriend agree to a double date with The Monarch and some girl he met "on the LiveJournal" in order to discuss the Monarch's official re-entry into the Guild of Calamitous Intent. Tempers flare, and Doc and Brock become the unwitting pawns in a low-grade pissing contest when Phantom Limb sets the Guild's commandos on the Venture family to prove his dominance. This is good episode. It shows just how badass Brock can be when he kills a bunch of people in the nude. Also, I loved the various origins of Phantom Limb; and Dr. Venture mistaking the musical “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas” for a porno. 9/10. 20. "Assassinanny 911"—July 9, 2006 2-16 When Brock is asked by the Office of Secret Intelligence to track down a rogue agent, he makes a deal with the mercenary Molotov Cocktease to protect the Venture Compound from enemies within and without during his absence. This is a good episode but a little disturbing. It shows us how Brock became the man he is today and how he met Molotov Cocktease. Their first meeting is so wonderful, and it isn’t hard to see why Brock fell in love with the girl. And, Cocktease teaches the Ventures how to be independent from Brock, complete with shooting a submachine gun at them. As for the disturbing parts, we have Dean falling for Molotov and getting pricked by the blade of her stiletto-boot that’s laced with a hallucinogen that causes Dean to want to kill his father as the Doors’ “The End” plays in the background. And, Brock is sent to kill his old mentor, who left the spy business to get a sex change operation. We even see the man post-op. It’s creepy because he has nice breast…I should stop now. 8/10. 21. "Fallen Arches"—September 3, 2006 2-22 When the Guild of Calamitous Intent finally approves Dr. Orpheus for his very own arch-nemesis, he calls upon his old friends Jefferson Twilight and the Alchemist to resurrect their former super-team, The Order of the Triad. This is another good episode. I mean, you have Dean trying to impress Triana with the worst production of "Lady Windermere's Fan" of all time Dr. Venture going on and on about his giant walking eye, Henchmen Nos. 21 and 24 trying to become supervillains themselves with jetpacks, the Monarch putting a hooker through hell, and a supervillain leaving the stinkiest dump aftersmell of all time. Lots of good stuff in this one. 9/10. 22. "Guess Who's Coming to State Dinner?"—September 10, 2006 2-21 When the Gargantua-1 Space Station breaks orbit and crashes into a number of wanted terrorists, Colonel Bud Manstrong becomes a national hero. But did it really happen, or is Bud's mother, the indomitable Mrs. Manstrong, behind an insidious plot to assassinate the President? The mysterious blinking bandage on Bud's neck might be the key to a mystery only the ghost of Abraham Lincoln and Team Venture can solve. If you like “The Manchurian Candidate,” then this episode is for you. Or not; I don’t know. Anyway, we have the return of super-square Bud Manstrong, with his foul-mouth and horny-for-Brock mother. Also, we has Lincoln’s ghost trying to stop the assassination plot of the President with Hank, Dean, and a lot of 5 dollar bills. Plus, we learn the wonderful powers of club soda. 10/10. 23. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills"—September 24, 2006 2-23 The Monarch continues to rebuild his villainous empire with the aid of his shadowy new Number 2, Dr. Henry Killinger, but #21 is suspicious of the good Doctor's unctuous charms. Meanwhile, as Dr. Orpheus attempts to exorcise a Japanese demon from Dr. Venture, a mysterious woman from Doc’s past resurfaces... In this episode, we meet the woman who may or may not be Hank and Dean’s mother. There’s a good possibility that she is or just some crazy woman whom Dr. Venture banged once. Also, the Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend get back together, thanks to an evil Henry Kissinger, which may be the actual Henry Kissinger. And, Brock pulls out another badass move by stopping the crazy woman by simply falling back into the car she’s about to hit him with. It’s just another reason why you don’t want to snork with Brock Samson. 10/10. 24. "¡Viva los Muertos!"—October 1, 2006 2-24 When Dr. Venture finally succeeds in attaining the holy grail of superscience, the revivification of a human corpse for fun and profit, a washed up gang of wandering former teen sleuths is convinced that the Venture Compound is haunted. Their investigation uncovers something far creepier. Meanwhile, Orpheus shepherds Brock through a crisis of conscience with the help of a New Age shaman and a bizarre tea party. This is weirdest episode of the whole series, and that’s saying something. I mean, we have a crazier and more evil version of the Scooby Doo gang, Dr. Venture creating his own Frankenstein monster, and Brock having a drug dream involving a pink dolphin and giant version of his mentor, who’s naked with his female body. A very sexy giant female body…I better stop again. 10/10. 25. "Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part I)"—October 8, 2006 2-25 The Monarch finally (for, roughly, the fourth time) has Team Venture in his clutches at the one time he doesn’t want them: smack dab in the middle of the social event of the supervillain season. The stage is set for a deadly, ultimate showdown between The Monarch and Phantom Limb for the hand of Dr. Girlfriend. The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend are GETTING MARRIED!!!! And, the Monarch’s henchmen finally capture the Ventures right when he doesn’t want them to. Plus, guest appearance by David Bowie (Note: David Bowie did not actually lend his voice for this episode; it was just a crappy impersonator.) Also, Phantom Limb shows some badassery by hunting the prisoners who helped the Monarch escape and attacking the wedding of the Monarch. Just a very good first parter. 9/10. 26. "Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part II)"—October 15, 2006 2-26 As Phantom Limb makes his stunning power play, only Brock can rally The Monarch’s forces to mount a defense. The fate of almost everyone in the Venture universe hangs in the balance as The Sovereign reveals his true identity and guys and stuff explode all over the place. And, this is a very good second parter. Brock shows how cool he can be, even wearing a butterfly costume. Phantom Limb becomes the Sovereign of the Guild of Calamitous Intent by taking out David Bowie. Yes, David Bowie runs a supervillain organization. And when you he couldn’t get any cooler, Bowie does. Plus, Dean has a hilarious hallucination involving him saving a magic kingdom. And, the Order of the Triad and the Sullustan from “Return of the Jedi” (they materialized him from a Star Wars trading card in the previous episode) come to the rescue, with hilarious results. Also, this episodes ends in a cliffhanger: after leaving the attack unharmed, the Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend go on their honeymoon. However, Dr. Girlfriend has a secret for the Monarch, but we have no idea what it is as the episode ends without the horrible secret being revealed. Though, it seems obvious what that secret might be. POSSIBLE SPOILERS. She used to be a dude. POSSIBLE SPOILERS END. All in all, this was a good episode with a nice cliffhanger, but the cliffhanger at the end of the first season was better. 9/10. There aren’t that many special features: commentary from the cast and creators, a whole bunch of deleted scenes, and a tour of Astro Base Go!, the production company that makes the show. Though there might not be much features, they are good ones. As for Season 2, it is very good and much better than the first one. In the first season, the show was trying to find its ground; and it didn’t take long for it to do so. With this season, it just got better and better; and this season should be indication that The Venture Bros. will be just as good or get a lot better in the years to come. Highlight: The beginning of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills.” The Monarch pulls off one incredibly badass entrance when he ambushes the Venture. His men are at top form, there are huge explosions, a lot of people die, etc. It’s the best one he’s ever done. However, it turns out he hadn’t attacked Venture compound but rather the offices of his accounting firm. It’s the funniest entrance I’ve seen. Highly recommended.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Dec 1, 2007 23:59:25 GMT -5
It's been a while, so here's a new DVD review!!!! Futurama: Bender's Big Score It's been four years since this fine, fine program went off the air. And, NOW IT'S BACK, BABY!!!! Futurama returns in this first of four straight-to-DVD movies. Here's the plot of the film: NOTE, THIS PLOT IS LONG AND COMPLICATED AND CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!! IF YOU DON'T WANT IT RUIN OR DON'T ASPRIN TO CURE YOU OF THE TIME-PARADOXING HEAD IT WILL CAUSE THEN: YES!!!! I FINALLY GET TO USE THAT!!!! *dances* SPOILER ALERT: The film opens with a short, pun-driven explanation that Planet Express (the show) was canceled by the "brainless drones" at the Box (FOX) Network, and has been for two years now. Professor Farnsworth then learns that the same "brainless morons" that cancelled the company have themselves been fired, beaten up, and subsequently ground into a fine, pink powder and that Planet Express is back "on the air". Following their renewal, the Planet Express crew has a party, during which Hermes is decapitated by a poorly hung sword and his body crushed by the Planet Express ship. He is rushed to the emergency room, where his head is placed in a jar while his body is repaired. The man that performs the procedure, Lars Fillmore, takes an immediate liking to Leela, much to Fry's chagrin. During a delivery to the nude beach planet, Leela points out a Bender tattoo on Fry's ass, which Fry didn't know existed. As they rest on the beach, a trio of nudist scammer aliens go around the beach asking for e-mail addresses, using flimsy excuses to get the entire Planet Express crew to sign. Upon returning to Earth, the entire crew is sent hundreds of spam messages, which they all fall for. Bender is even infected by a virus. The scammers then show up at the door, having purchased Planet Express through the Professor's stolen personal information. Bender's virus is also their doing, causing him to obey them without question. As they continue scamming Earth, the scammers are drawn to the tattoo on Fry's ass, which is revealed to contain the binary code for paradox-correcting time travel. Though Nibbler, who reveals himself at the discovery, explains that using the code could destroy the universe, they ignore his warnings. Using the time-travel code, the scammers have Bender steal every valuable object in human history, since time-travel is one-way and Bender, being an unaging robot, can simply wait for the appropriate day in the limestone cavern beneath Planet Express. Meanwhile, Hermes asks Bender to travel back in time and kill an earlier version of himself for a replacement body, since repairs to his current one are delayed by the head museum being scammed. The Professor, having analyzed the time-travel code, discovers that the "doom field" is what corrects the paradoxes, ensuring that any duplicates created as a result of time travel meet their end eventually. The Professor insists that, because of this, Hermes' duplicate body is doomed. Once Bender has stolen everything of value from history, the scammers decide to destroy the time-travel code by killing Fry and blanking Bender's memory. Fry uses the time code to escape to January 1, 2000, the day he was frozen, and Bender is sent back to kill him. While waiting for Fry, Bender creates a duplicate of himself when he needs to use the bathroom. The duplicate Bender catches Fry as he appears in the past and attempts to kill him, only to have his feelings for Fry cause an overload. Fry shoves him in a cryo-tube before he can explode. Fry leaves by the time the original Bender walks out of the bathroom, and Bender spends the next twelve years hunting Fry, eventually blowing up Panucci's Pizza when Fry walks inside. Once Bender returns to report his success, the scammers wipe his memory and the virus forcing him to obey their commands. When the crew holds a funeral, Fry is revealed to be alive and well, having also created duplicate of himself, which Bender killed, while he hid in another cryo-tube and came back to the future. Nibbler destroys the time travel tattoo to keep the scammers from abusing it further. Leela and Lars, having had several dates, decide to get married. At the wedding, Hermes' body is crushed by a chandelier, which the Professor announces was bound to happen because the body was a duplicate. This announcement suddenly makes Lars nervous, and he calls off the wedding. The scammers eventually trick Earth President Richard Nixon into selling Earth itself, forcing everyone to evacuate to other planets. To retake the planet, Leela assembles a fleet with the help of Nixon and Robot Santa. Despite the scammers having built a network of solid gold Death Stars around Earth, their fleet is victorious thanks to Hermes, who has the Professor wire him into the battle computer so he can coordinate every ship. The scammers threaten the crew with a doomsday device they had Bender steal, but fail to realize that Bender stole it back after being released from their control. The crew fires the device at the scammers' ship, completely destroying it. Fry, seeing that Leela is still unhappy that Lars left her at the altar, tries to get her back together with Lars. The reunion is cut short by Nudar, the lead scammer, who survived the doomsday device thanks to his doom-proof vest. Nudar is drawn to Lars, claiming that the time-travel code still exists. Lars tricks him into approaching the cryo-tube with the Bender on overload, and once that Bender is released the explosion kills them both. The explosion singes off some of Lars' clothing, revealing the time-travel tattoo. A flashback explains that Lars is actually Fry's duplicate, having survived Bender's attack in 2012, of which the resulting fire permanently burned off his hair and injured his larynx, changing his voice. Upon realizing that he was Lars, the duplicate froze himself to return to the future and be with Leela. He called off the wedding after realizing he could never be with Leela, since as a time duplicate he was doomed. During the funeral, Bender removes the tattoo from Lars and travels into the past to place it on the Fry frozen in cryo-sleep. Upon returning from the cavern below the Planet Express building, Bender tells all of his copies to come up with him instead of emerging when they were logically supposed to. The army of Benders causes a giant tear in the universe. END OF SPOILERS!!!! YOU MAY RESUME READING!!!! The movie is hysterical. There are a lot of good jokes. Plus the return of many recurring characters, like the Nibblonians, Fry's dog Seymour, Barbados Slim, Robot Santa, the God space entity, Al Gore (played by himself), Kwanzaa-bot (Coolio), the Hedonism Bot, Richard Nixon, Headless Spiro T Agnew, the Harlem Globetrotters, and many. Sadly, there were a lot characters missing and underused. It took forever for Zapp Brannigan to show up, and Kif did nothing but warm up Zapp's thighs on Neptune; trust me, it's less than it sounds. The Omicromians were just in the background of Leela's weding. Also, where were Amy's parents, Roberto, Calculon, and the Robot Devil! Hopefully, they will have more of these characters in the other three movies. Despite these flaws, the movie is hilarious. And, we got some new characters, like the head of Charle De Gualle and the Chanukah Zombie (Mark Hamill). The plot is a little complicated, but it's still better than most the movies released these. And, the subplots are terrific, good enough in fact to be separate episodes. Plus, the DVD has some great special features: commentary from creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Phil LaMarr, Claudia Katz, Dwayne Carey-Hill, and Ken Keeler; a live comic book reading at the San Diego Comic-Con that explains what Leela, Fry, and Bender having been doing for the last few years; a full-length episode of the future's most popular show EVERYBODY LOVE HYPNOTOAD; three deleted scenes: one has Bender in the past looking for Fry in Monte Carlo, a scene featuring the Robo-Mafia, and a limbo contest between Hermes and Barbados Slim; an animated promo for "An Inconvenient Truth" featuring Bender and Al Gore (comes with commentary with Al Gore, Groening, and Cohen); Bite My Shiny Metal X, a math lecture on THE MATH OF THE FUTURE!!!!; 3D models and turnarounds; the original first draft of the script; design sketches of the new characters; and the original 5 minute San Diego Comic-Con promo. The features are great, funny, and imformative. All-in-all, this is a great DVD for Futurama fans. If this is your first look at Futurama, then you picked the wrong time to get into it. You'll just be confused and discombobulated. I would suggest go watch some of the first episode and then go back and watch this DVD. But, for you Futurama fans, GO OUT AND BUY THIS NOW!!!! Highlight: Everybody Loves Hypnotoad. This episode is great. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be scared, but most importantly, you will ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD!!!! Highly recommended, especially for Futurama fans.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Dec 30, 2007 2:40:24 GMT -5
The Best of RAW 15th Anniversary. 3 Disc DVD For 15 years, WWE RAW has aired on Monday nights. The show has given us fans countless memories of memorable matches, promos, and incredible moment. Now, WWE has put together a 3 disc set of the best moments of RAW. However, it’s not really a 3 disc set. There’s a bonus disc: Bonus Disc: 1st Episode of RAW. It starts off with an intro by Michael Cole. Then, we get to the show. The original theme song rules! I miss it a lot. Then, Bobby Heenan tries to enter, but Sean Mooney tells him he’s not allowed in the show. He’s been replaced by Rob Bartlett. Rob Bartlett sucks and is strangely fascinated with Yokozuna’s ass and crotch. For the love of God, Rob Bartlett, GET OFF OF YOKOZUNA’S BUTT!!!! And, he kept mispronouncing his name, Yokozuma. Even after Vince McMahon and Randy Savage kept saying Yokozuna’s name correctly. SPEAKING OF Yokozuna, he’s in the first match: Yokozuna VS Koko B. Ware. Koko B. Ware looks like the 1980s threw up on him. The match isn’t spectacular. It’s an okay squash. 6/10. They left in an ad for the 1993 Royal Rumble. And, they had some present WWE employees comment on the first episode of RAW. Then, we went to a ring girl who was clearly from New Jersey. This girl’s hair was big enough to cover Yankee Stadium when it rained. Then, a pretty good promo from Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, hyping up Lex Luger’s arrival to the WWF. The Steiner Brothers VS the Executioners (possible Jobber Of The Week induction if they haven’t already). This is a typical jobber match. The most interesting thing about the match is that Doink, whom Bartlett calls Dork, runs around the crowd. I’m still amazed by how much Scott Steiner has changed over the years. Okay jobber match. 6/10 More hilarity from Bobby Heenan as he tries to get in. Heenan in drag is funny. Then, we get an interview featuring Razor Ramon, who was going to challenge Bret Hart for the WWF Title at the 1993 Royal Rumble. Then, we get a promo from Tatanka about this charity the WWF had at the time: Headlock for Hunger. Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels VS Max Moon. Bartlett calls Max Moon “Robo-Wrestler.” Bartlett makes a lame Amy Fisher joke (that was going on at the time), saying there would be another TV movie on the subject with Sensational Sherri as Amy Fisher, Vince McMahon as Joey Buttafuco, and Bobby Heenan as Mary Jo Buttafuco. There was a “Let’s Go Shawn!” chant. During the match, Doink showed up again. And, Rob Bartlett did a Mike Tyson impersonation (Tyson was in prison at the time). It is bad as Mike Tyson’s career has turned out. The match ended with Shawn suplexing Moon. Yes, it ended with a suplex! A decent match. 7/10. Next, Heenan tries to enter the Manhattan Center dressed as a rabbi. Then, they show footage of Kamala’s face turn. Damien Demento VS The Undertaker. The Outer Reaches Of Your Inner Mind = AWESOME hometown. Undertaker looks smaller than he does today. And, it’s weird to see him without all those tattoos on his arms. An okay match, but not the best in the world. 5/10. Then, we get an interview with Doink, in which Crush shows up. Man, I miss heel Doink. Then, Bobby Heenan is told he can go up and see RAW, even though it’s over. And, the episode just ends anticlimactically. Disc 1: 1993-1997 Todd Grisham hosts this set. UGH! It starts out with a little chapter on the first RAW episode. Loser Leaves WWF Match: Ric Flair VS Mr. Perfect, 1-18-1993. They had little facts popup at random parts of the match. In fact, these pop ups appeared throughout the entire DVD. They didn’t show the whole match, but what is there is pretty good. Not surprising, considering it involves two of the best wrestlers of all time. Mr. Perfect wins. Heenan is hilarious when he sees Flair losing. 8/10. Then, they show a parking lot brawl between Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect. Razor Ramon VS The Kid (Sean Waltman), 5-17-1993. There is this very unattractive ring girl. It was an okay little match. The pop the Kid got after he won was louder than most of the pops WWE wrestlers get today, and that crowd was half the size of today’s crowds. I remember this match and marked like hell when the Kid won. 6/10. Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels VS Marty Jannetty, 5-17-1993. I liked the feud between Shawn and Marty; I usually mark for tag team break up feuds. It starts off with Shawn challenging anyone to take him own. Marty shows up dressed like a fan and goads Shawn into taking the match. This match was vote the Match Of The Year for 1993, and I can see why. Even though it’s only about 9 minutes, it’s amazing. Man, Jannetty was amazing in his prime. And, it’s great to see a heel Shawn Michaels in his prime again. Also, I believe Bill Alfonso is the referee for the match. 9/10. Next, Gorilla Monsoon fires Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. I remember this moment; it is so funny. It was sad to see the Brain go, but at least he left in a memorable way. WWF Title Match: Bret Hart VS The 1-2-3 Kid, 7-11-1994. A very good match. Sean Waltman is very underrated; the man was amazing in this bout. I liked how they had Bret say that the 1-2-3 Kid’s foot was on the rope when he got a 3 count and had the match restarted. 9/10. Then, we get Leslie Neilsen. Remember when Ted DiBiase brought in that fake Undertaker. Well, WWF got Leslie Neilsen to “find” the real Undertaker. After Neilsen, we get Shatner!!!! Williams Shatner appeared on RAW in the King’s Court. This was done to promote Shatner’s new show on USA, TekWar. Remember that show that came after RAW for about a minute!? Of course you don’t. The chemistry between Shatner and Lawler is great. I loved it when Shatner did the Captain Kirk role to Lawler. Shawn Michaels VS Owen Hart, 11-20-1995. Before the match, Todd Grisham shows up and mentions Owen’s tragic death. They don’t show any footage from the special tribute show to Owen, which is a little disappointing; but I’d rather see Owen wrestling. So, I’m not complaining. They don’t show all of this match, but what is there is great. Also, this is the match where Owen gave Shawn an enziugiri that “knocked out” Shawn. I doubt the injury was real. I think they were trying to build up Shawn to winning the WWF Title. You know, give him some sympathy and make it more special when he did win the title. Anyway, the match was okay. 7/10. Then, we get the time Vader attacked Gorilla Monsoon. I liked this moment. It gave Vader some great heel heat and really made him look like a monster. Then, we get a strange moment. It starts with the end of the King Of The Ring tournament match between Ahmed Johnson and Vader. Vader wins with the help of Owen Hart and his cast; this was when Owen had a cast on his hand and used it like a weapon ala “Cowboy” Bob Orton. Johnson is knocked out and put on a stretcher. As he’s being carted to back, Goldust comes up and gives Ahmed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Ahmed wakes up realizes who was on his lips and is incensed. He chokes out Bob Holly, breaks down a door with a wrestler in front of it, and takes out a cameraman. It was an okay moment, but a little disgusting. I’m probably gonna have nightmares involving Goldust and Ahmed Johnson. *shudders* Next, we get the infamous Brian Pillman has a gun incident. This was the turning point for the WWF. This is when things got a lot more mature in the WWF. I liked Austin’s attack on Pillman’s friends. And, it’s still chilling to see Pillman pull out that gun. I guess it all has to do with Pillman’s crazy charisma. Because of this, RAW nearly got kicked off of USA. No Hold’s Barred: Mankind VS The Undertaker, 12-9-1996. I haven’t seen this match since it first aired. They don’t show the whole match, but what is here is good. It is painfully obvious that the Undertaker/Mankind feud was either influence or done is response to the following ECW and their extreme matches were developing. Anyway, it was still an okay match. 6/10. Next, we get the infamous “Shawn loses his smile” moment. This was where Shawn vacated the WWF Title because he had a “knee injury.” Actually, he didn’t want to job to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. You can here some fans not buying it, and chanting for Bret Hart and Sycho Sid. Though, I do have to Shawn some credit for admitting that they were chanting for Bret and Sid. And, he has a nice beard. Then, we get Chyna’s first appearance on RAW. Basically, Goldust and Hunter Hearst Hemsley were feuding. Goldust and Marlena gave an interview. Then, HHH came down and attacked Goldust. Marlena slapped HHH, and then Chyna came out from the crowd, grabbed Marlena, and shook her like a rag doll. Then, we get the ECW Invasion of RAW. This was my first exposure to ECW, and I’ve been a fan ever since. WWF did it to beat WCW in the ratings, and ECW did it to promote their first PPV, Barely Legal. The Invasion pretty much petered out, but it was still a cool moment and proved that anything can happen on RAW. European Title Match: The British Bulldog VS Owen Hart, 3-3-1997. This was the finals crown the first-ever WWF European Champion, the first WWF Title to be introduced since the Intercontinental title was created in 1979. It was kind of sad watching this match since Owen and Bulldog are gone, but it is still great to see it on the DVD. This is a very great technical encounter. 10/10. Then, we get Todd Grisham talking about the WWF had changed quite a bit from 1993 to 1997. After that, we get the end of a match that should have been on the DVD. It was an excellent cage match between Bret Hart and Sycho Sid for the WWF Title which took place before WrestleMania 13. During the match “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Bret’s opponent for WrestleMania, came out and helped Bret to win the match so that their match would be for the WWF Title. Then, the Undertaker, Sycho Sid’s WrestleMania opponent, came out to help Sid win the match so that their match would still be a title match. The match ended with Bret about to walk out the door as Sid climbed down the cage. Suddenly, the Undertaker closed the door on Bret and cost him the match. Then, a huge brawl broke out between all for men that went on seemingly forever. Hell, it went on for so long that USA had a scrolling message at the bottom of the screen telling people that La Femme Nikita, the show that came on after RAW at this time, would still be airing. Why that wasn’t on the DVD is beyond my comprehension. After the brawl ended, Vince came into the ring to interview Bret. When Vince asked him if he was disappointed, Bret pushed him down and gave an emphatic “Yes.” Vince McMahon has said that this is when he felt the Mr. McMahon character was born. And, this was the precursor to Bret’s heel turn. Flag Match: Team USA (Dude Love, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and the Undertaker) VS Team Canada (Bret Hart, Owen Hart, and the British Bulldog), 7-12-1997. This took place during the great USA VS Canada storyline the WWF had going on. This match took place in Canada, so I wasn’t surprised that the Hart Foundation won the match. It was an okay match. 6/10. Next, we get the first time “Stone Cold” Steve Austin stunned Vince McMahon. Basically, Austin attacked Owen Hart, and the police came down to arrest him because Owen had a restraining order on Austin. Vince came into the ring to stop the arrest and talk some since into Austin. After giving Austin a nice heartfelt speech about how the fans and the WWF care for Austin and don’t want him to become crippled and pleaded with Austin to work within the system, Stone Cold told Vince to kiss his ass and stunned him. I didn’t like how Vince first sold the Stunner, but that doesn’t really matter as this lead to the one of the best rivalries in wrestling history. Next, we get Vince McMahon’s explanation for screwing Bret Hart out of the WWF Title in Montreal. This is pretty much when it became widely known that Vince ran the WWF. It also marked the official beginning of the Mr. McMahon character when he said that “Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart.” Next, we get a very special moment. At the time, Marc Mero had this gimmick where he was a controlling jerk who had his valet Sable on a leash. So, before a match, Mero had Sable come out in a potato sack. However, Sable took the sack off when Mero wasn’t looking, revealing she was wearing a very tiny bikini. Nowadays, we see women in bikinis almost all the time on RAW; but this was new. And, Sable was very hot back then. She’s still hot, but she was hotter in 1997. This was also when Mero called his opponent Salvatore Sincere by his real name Tom Brandi and called him a jobber. Then, we get the time “Stone Cold” Steve Austin threw the Rock’s Intercontinental Title off a bridge. And, then Disc 1 comes to an end with D-Generation-X mooning the RAW crowd at Christmas. It’s nice to see the old D-X with Shawn Michaels. I also like J.R.’s line “Would you look at those nuts?” after Shawn and Triple H disrobed. Then, Sgt. Slaughter came out and forced Shawn Michaels to defend his European Title against Triple H. Shawn and Hunter got into a huge argument about who would beat whom. After a whole night of bickering, Triple H and Shawn finally faced off and… Shawn went down after Hunter gave him a shove and stayed down while Hunter ran across the ring and for a three count. D-X had gotten the better of Slaughter. One of the best things about this match was that it took place at the same venue where Shawn “lost his smile.” And, that moment was referenced quite a few times. Now to Disc 2.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Dec 30, 2007 2:40:57 GMT -5
Disc 2: 1998-2002.
Todd Grisham shows up again to introduce the first feature on Disc 2: when Mike Tyson showed up to be announced as the special enforcer for the WrestleMania XIV main event. As we all know, Stone Cold showed up, Tyson shoved him, and a brawl broke out. This was a great moment and helped to hype up WrestleMania XIV. It also marked as a turning point for the WWF. Around this time, WCW Nitro was killing RAW in the ratings. With this moment, the WWF started to gain some ground and would eventually take over in the ratings war. And, I still love Vince’s reaction to the whole melee.
Then, we get an awesome promo from D-X in which they state that they will censor themselves. You have never heard so many bleeps in your life.
Then, we get the time the New Age Outlaws trapped Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie in a dumpster and pushed it off the entranceway. It was one of the first great “Holy Shit!” moments of the Attitude Era. I like how the WWF wrestlers and officials sold the severity of the moment. Hell, you don’t really see that these days, mainly because people get thrown off that entranceway a lot more than back then.
Next, we get the night after WrestleMania XIV where Triple H took over D-X and Sean Waltman returned to the WWF as X-Pac. I have to admit that I marked for Waltman’s turn. I always liked him and was happy to see him back in the WWF. I also liked his promo. It was fun and exciting to here someone in the WWF finally mention WCW.
Vince McMahon VS “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, 4-13-1998. This was the first match between Austin and McMahon, and it was the night when the WWF ended WCW’s 82 week winning streak. As you may remember, this was basically a cop-out, as Vince challenged Austin to fight with one arm tied behind his back and then Dude Love came out and attacked Austin. However, even though Austin and McMahon didn’t actually wrestle, it did a good job of giving heat to the feud. And, it kept the fans anticipating the time Stone Cold would finally get McMahon in a wrestling match.
Then, we get the infamous D-X Invasion of WCW Nitro at the Norfolk Scope. It wasn’t much of an invasion. D-X showed up, talked with the fans, and couldn’t get in. However, it was mind-blowing to see WWF wrestlers at a WCW venue. After that, more D-X! It’s the hilarious promo where D-X impersonated the Nation of Domination. I love Road Dogg’s D-Lo Brown. And, man, Jason Sensation does a great Owen Hart.
Next, we get the night after Stone Cold the WWF Title at Breakdown in a Triple Threat Match with the Undertaker and Kane. As Vince McMahon was about to announce who the WWF Champion was, Stone Cold drove into the arena on a zamboni, crashed it into the ring, and jumped on Vince. Also, you can hear the commentary now as the sound was cut when Austin drove over a cable. Sadly, they didn’t show when Vince flipped off Kane and the Undertaker and got caught, leading to them breaking Vince’s leg with the steel steps. But, they do show Vince in the hospital when Mankind came to visit and introduced the world to Mr. Socko. They also show Stone Cold’s attack on Vince. I still laugh when Austin hits Vince with the bed pan. They even show Austin giving Vince the enema.
Next, we get the time Stone Cold filled Vince’s Corvette with cement. Chevy Corvette: $25,000. The look on Vince’s face as it’s filled with cement: Priceless.
Then, we get the night after Judgment Day 1998. Stone Cold was the special referee for the WWF Title Match between Kane and the Undertaker and was ordered to call the match fairly. However, Austin stunned both wrestlers and declared himself WWF Champion. So, Vince fired him. The next night, Austin showed up and mentally tortured him throughout the night. Then, Austin took Vince to the ring, pulled out a gun, and pulled the trigger to reveal it was a gag gun with the expression “Bang 3:16.” A hilarious moment, especially when it was revealed that Vince had pissed himself.
WWF Championship: Mankind VS The Rock, 1-4-1999. Another infamous match. On WCW Monday Nitro, announcer Tony Schiavone mentioned Foley's title victory which was the main event of a taped RAW whereas Nitro was a live show. Schiavone sarcastically said of Foley's victory "That will put some butts in the seats." Following the comment, many fans switched over to RAW to see Foley win the WWF Title, resulting in many lost viewers for Nitro's main event which was the infamous "Fingerpoke of Doom" match between Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. Following this incident, WWE Fans would occasionally arrive at shows with signs bearing such statements as "Mick Foley put my butt in this seat". It was a great match. I remember seeing it live and being shocked that Mankind won the WWF Title. It was great to see things I had forgotten, like Vince's reaction to Foley's win. It was priceless. The match itself isn't great, but it is a decent affair with a lot of drama. 7/10.
Next, we get the time Stone Cold drove a beer truck to the ring and sprayed Vince, Shane, and the Rock with beer. Awesome moment, mainly for how Vince, Shane, and the Rock sold it. After that, more vehicular fun as Stone Cold runs over the Rock’s car with a monster truck. Then, we get an EPIC match:
The Stooges (Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson) VS The Mean Street Posse (Pete Gas and Rodney), 5-10-1999. I can’t believe someone in WWE not only remembered the Mean Street Posse but also liked them so much to put them on the RAW 15th Anniversary DVD. It must have been Shane. Anyway, Brisco and Patterson pretty much squash the Mean Street Posse. After the match, Patterson does his best Hulk Hogan. 5/10.
Next, the Higher Power is revealed. This was a great angle with a bad payoff as Vince was revealed to be the Higher Power. They also show Stone Cold being named CEO of the WWF. However, it’s only clips. Also, this happened on my birthday! (June 7, 1999)
Then, Grisham shows up to introduce the Millennium countdown. It was a clock that was supposedly counting down to the end of the Millennium, but it was later revealed that the countdown ended in August of 1999, not December. Once it reached zero, he showed up: Y2J!!!! I marked like a motherf***er when Chris Jericho showed up on RAW. It wouldn’t be long before he would become my favorite wrestler of all time. I loved the promo between him and the Rock. I was hoping this would lead to a feud between the two wrestlers. Sadly, I would have to wait two years.
SPEAKING OF the Rock, we get a special segment: This Is Your Life, Rock! It is the hilarious segment in which Mankind presented a retrospective of the Rock’s life. Mankind brings out the Rock’s old home-ec teacher, his high school football coach, and his old girlfriend; and the Rock proceeds to tell them all off. This is a pretty good segment, mainly because of the great chemistry between the Rock and Mick Foley.
Next, we get the Big Bossman giving a promo in which he shows his sympathy about the death of the Big Show’s dad by reading a completely disrespectful poem.
Then comes the wedding between Andrew “Test” Martin and Stephanie McMahon. However, Triple H crashes the party and reveals that he drugged Stephanie the night before and married Vince’s daughter at a wedding chapel in Vegas. This was one of my favorite RAW moments, but I wish they had shown the whole segment instead of just clips. SPEAKING OF Triple H:
WWF Title Match: Triple H VS Chris Jericho, 4-17-2000. This is the infamous match in which Jericho won the WWF Title only to have Triple H and Shane and Stephanie McMahon force referee Earl Hebner to overturn the decision. This was probably my favorite RAW moment. I was so excited to see Jericho win the WWF Title and was very disappointed when it got overturned. The match itself is pretty good. And, even tough it was overturned, I still consider Jericho an unofficial WWF Champion. 7/10.
Then, we get one of the biggest moments wrestling history: March 26, 2001. It was the last Nitro, and Vince McMahon announced that he had bought WCW. And then, Shane McMahon appeared on Nitro and said that he had bought WCW. The Monday Night War was over, and things may have gotten worse for wrestling since then. But, hopefully things will pick up. Also, this moment is shown in clips.
Then, we get the time Kurt Angle drove a milk truck into the arena and sprayed the Alliance with milk. I like this moment. It was a great parody of Stone Cold’s beer bash. And, I still laugh when Angle throws Shawn Stasiak into the milk truck. This is one of the few highlights of the Invasion storyline. In fact, they don’t have much on the Invasion. Though, it wasn’t that great of a storyline. So, I don’t really blame them.
Next, we get Triple H’s return after being out for almost year for a quad tear in the match where he and Stone Cold defended their WWF Tag Team Titles against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, a match that should have been on the DVD; though I can see why it isn’t on it. Kurt Angle also shows up. I think this is the first time he said that he won the Gold Medal with “a broken freakin’ neck!”
Then, we get the first meeting between Hulk Hogan and the Rock. The electricity between these two is fierce. Next, we get another meeting wrestling fans thought they would never see: Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff. However, instead of having a huge feud between the two like with the Rock and Hogan, Vince and Eric hugged. I can’t believe they wasted such a golden opportunity. After the hug that cost millions of dollar, Eric Bischoff gives a promo in which he describes how Nitro changed wrestling, and he’s pretty much correct. Though, he amazingly says this in such a way that you just can’t help but hate him and want to disagree even though he’s pretty much correct. And, thus Disc 2 comes to an end. Now on to Disc 3.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Dec 30, 2007 2:41:17 GMT -5
Disc 3: 2003-2008
Todd Grisham shows up again, talking about the people who work backstage on RAW, and the rock concerts that have been on RAW. SPEAKING OF rock concerts, the first feature on this disc is the Rock Concert the Rock gave to Sacramento before WrestleMania XIX. I loved Hollywood Rock. It’s one of the best gimmicks of the last five years and one of my all-time favorites. Rocky was just so great in this role. It’s a shame it didn’t last long. As for the concert, Stone Cold crashed the party and destroyed the Rock’s guitar.
Next, we get the infamous night in which Kane took off his mask. He had been wearing it ever since he first showed up in the WWF back in 1997. For years, WWE said that he wore the mask because his face badly burnt in a fire started by his brother the Undertaker. However, when Kane took the mask off, his face looked normal. It seemed like WWE had made a huge continuity error, but Kane later explained in an interview that he was told his face was repair via plastic surgery. Yet, he didn’t believe it and thought it was still burnt and scarred. Anyway, it was good moment that reinvigorated Kane’s career. He went back to being the unstoppable monster that he had been when he first debut. However, WWE quickly killed Kane’s momentum in a few years.
Then, we get a “special” moment. It comes from the night Eugene, Eric Bischoff’s “special” nephew, was General Manager of RAW for a night and made Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, Tyson Tomko, Stacy Keibler, Tajiri, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Jonathan Coachman play musical chairs for a shot at a title. It’s amazing how over Eugene was back in 2004. The fans loved him, but WWE killed the character by keeping it going for too long. As for this segment, it is quite. Ric Flair really makes it. First, he’s upset that he has to take part in this. Then, he grudgingly gets into it. Then, he get way into it, even cheating by pushing Stacy Keibler to the mat to sit in a chair. Then, he throws a huge fit when gets eliminated. If you’ve ever wondered why Flair is considered one of the greats, well he got a game of musical chairs over! By the way, Jericho won in awesome fashion by pulling the chair out from under Tomko, jabbing it into this stomach, and then sat down.
Next is when Evolution kicked Randy Orton out of the group. It’s amazing how Orton was so over back in 2004 and how this one incident gave him a lot of sympathy. Now, I doubt he could get a pop if he saved an old lady and a litter of puppies from being hit by a bus. Some of the blame has to go to Triple H, who pretty much swept the rug out from under Orton by beating him for the title at Unforgiven a month after he won the World Heavyweight Title. However, some of the blame can be attributed to the fact that Randy Orton’s a jerk.
After that we get a skit called “Are You Ready For Some Wrestling?” Remember when there was an opening skit to a Monday Night Football game which featured Nicolette Sheridan seducing Terrell Owens and a bunch of people threw a hissy fit because Sheridan was wearing nothing but a towel and took it off, even thought nothing was shown. Well, WWE made fun of the controversy by doing this parody featuring Shelton Benjamin, Trish Stratus, and Vince McMahon. Basically, this was Vince’s way of saying people were fussing over nothing. The skit was pretty funny. I like how Trish tried to seduce Shelton with a nose guard on.
Next, we get the moment where Batista turns on Evolution and decides to challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 21. This was a pretty cool moment, mainly because Batista powerbombed Triple H through a table.
Gold Rush Tournament Match: Shawn Michaels VS Shelton Benjamin, 5-2-2005. After Batista defeated Triple H at Backlash to retain the World Heavyweight Title, the Gold Rush Tournament was started to determine the new Number 1 contender. This was an amazingly awesome match. Shawn may not be as good as he once was, but he’s still one of the best out there and can still put on a great match. And, Shelton is one of best wrestlers out there. I’m amazed WWE hasn’t really done much with him for a while, but it looks like that is about to change. These two put on a very exciting and fast paced match. It’s one of the best of the last 5 years. And, Shelton springboarding into Shawn’s Sweet Chin Music is still incredible to see. 10/10.
Next, we get John Cena’s debut on RAW. This was a huge shock to see as Cena was the WWE Champion at the time. I mean, most people didn’t thing WWE would have the champion of one show drafted to another show. Though it wasn’t surprising that World Heavyweight Champion Batista would end up on SmackDown a few weeks later, this was still a big moment.
Then, we get the wedding between Edge and Lita. Though, on the case, it says it’s the Kane/Lita wedding. However, Kane does show up and crash the wedding. Also, Snitzky reads a poem; and the happy couple psyches out the crowd by playing Matt Hardy’s music; this was sometime after Matt Hardy was fired for revealing that Lita had cheated on him with Edge and shortly before Matt he got rehired.
Up next is the moment where Shawn Michael superkicked Hulk Hogan. This was a good moment as it led to the return of Shawn as a heel. Though his heel turn only lasted a month, it was still a fun month.
Next, we get a horrible, dark moment in RAW history: Chris Jericho getting fired. They show clips of the match between John Cena and Jericho in which the loser would get fired. I wish they would have shown the whole match as it was pretty good one. Then, it gets to Bischoff firing Jericho because he lost. It was sad to see Jericho go, but I understand it happened as Jericho needed a break from wrestling. Luckily, Jericho is now back on RAW. I did like Jericho begging and having to be dragged away from the ring.
30-Minute Iron Man Match: Kurt Angle VS Shawn Michaels, 10-3-2005. This was one of the big matches of RAW’s Homecoming to USA. I really liked the Angle/Michaels feud. They had both put on great matches with each other that year at WrestleMania 21 and Vengeance, and this one was no exception. Thought the other two matches were better, this match is still pretty good. It was exciting, faced pace, and had a nail-biting ending. 9/10.
That’s not all from WWE Homecoming. Next, we get Stone Cold stunning all the members of the McMahon family. It’s amazing how bad an actress Linda McMahon is. And, I still can’t get over her selling of the Stunner. Also, this segment led to the infamous JR gets fired angle and Linda’s heel turn. Then, we get another infamous moment: the trial of Eric Bischoff. Remember when Vince put Bischoff on trial and we got testimony from Stephanie, Davari, the Boogeyman, and Maria and then Vince fired Bischoff and threw him into a garbage truck. Well, that’s pretty much what happened. Luckily, they only show clips from the trial and not the whole segments.
Next, we get the “sexiest” moment in RAW history: the Live Sex Celebration featuring Edge and Lita. Joey Styles is surprisingly quiet for this segment, and by “surprisingly,” I mean “not at all shocking.” I imagine he was wondering why the hell he agreed to take the RAW announce job as this went on. Anyway, this goes on forever until Ric Flair comes out and stops the proceedings by saying that Edge is a disgrace to the WWE Championship and telling Lita that she’s gonna ride Space Mountain. Apparently, Edge doesn’t like Disneyland and hit Flair with a Con-Chair-To. Then, John Cena came out, attacked Edge, and F-Ued Lita. This wasn’t the best RAW moment of all time, but I was amazed at how Edge was able to get the whole crowd to cheer for Cena is such a short time. The previous night at New Year’s Revolution, they wanted Cena’s head on a platter; the next time, they are cheering for him like he cured cancer.
Then, we get D-X impersonating Vince and Shane McMahon. Now, I’m not a big fan of the new D-X; but this was one of their better moments. I liked this segment for the Stand Back music video. I also liked the McMahons and the Spirit Squad’s reaction when they get all that crap dumped on them.
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Title: Rob Van Dam VS John Cena VS Edge, 7-3-2006. Oh, Rob Van Dam. You shouldn’t be speeding while you’re weeding. However, RVD’s loss is Edge’s gain. I was very surprised that Edge won the WWE Title. I seriously thought WWE would put the title on Cena again. It was a pleasant surprise, especially since I’m such a huge Edge fan. The match itself is pretty good. And, I still like seeing that Cena fan in complete shock. 8/10.
Street Fight: Edge VS Shawn Michaels, 1-22-2007. Great match. Just as good as their first street fight on RAW two years ago. I still don’t get why Shawn was rubbing on Edge’s crotch. 9/10.
Then, the DVD ends with Shawn Michaels returning after being out for most of 2007 to ruin Randy Orton’s celebration after winning the WWE Title at No Mercy. I’m still amazed about how much Shawn looks like Skinner. Then, Todd Grisham shows up to take us out.
All in all, this was a good DVD. There were a lot of moments that could have put on the set, but what is on here is excellent. It has a good mix of classic moments that couldn’t have been left out and moments that may have gotten forgotten over the years. The DVD is also a great trip down memory lane to some of RAW’s better days, like the Attitude Era. But, they did included a lot of the good stuff from the currents. It’s just a great DVD set that you should get.
Highlight: Vince McMahon, to Shelton Benjamin: “I don’t know if you know this, but you’re African-American.”
Recommended.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Dec 31, 2007 23:20:49 GMT -5
Time for another DVD review: The Triumph And Tragedy Of World Class Championship Wrestling 2-Disc DVD In Texas, there was a wrestling promotion that had a huge impact the way the industry is ran and presented: WCCW. Fritz Von Erich’s promotion was technologically innovative and had a lot of great gimmicks and rivalries. However, it also had an abundance of tragedy. Not only are five of the six Von Erich boys dead but also a plethora of wrestlers who worked for the company, Gino Hernandez, Chris Addams, Rick Rude, Bruiser Brody, Terry Gordy, Big John Studd, and others. And, most of them died tragic and premature deaths. The story of WCCW’s rise and tragic fall has inspired two documentaries. Filmmaker Brian Harrison made “Heroes Of World Class” before WWE bought the WCCW video library from Kevin Von Erich. I haven’t seen that documentary, but I hear it’s really good. And, I really want to see it now to compare to the WWE’s version. The documentary WWE made is very, much like their other ones. And, even though many WCCW alumni have died, WWE was able to get a good amount still around for documentary. Obviously, Kevin Von Erich and Michael Hayes are present; but so is Jimmy Garvin, Bill Mercer, Buddy Roberts, Bill Iwrin, Skandor Akbar, and Gary Hart. And, we get some WWE documentary mainstays: Jerry Lawler, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, and Triple H. There’s some hilarity from Hunter as he mentions how he doesn’t like the hardcore style in the part about the Bruiser Brody/Abdullah The Butcher feud. I find this hilarious as HHH has been in countless Hell In A Cell, Last Man Standing, and Street Fight matches and is known to use a sledgehammer from time to time. It starts out with Big Time Wrestling, the promotion in Dallas, which would become WCCW. Then, we get a profile of Jack Adkisson, AKA Fritz Von Erich. The first Von Erich son, Jack, Jr., is also mention. For those of you who don’t know, Jack, Jr., died as child after being electrocuted in Niagara Falls. Kevin says that he believes Fritz felt responsible for Jack, Jr.,’s death and that is why Fritz was the way he was. Then, it gets into how Fritz became the promoter. Originally, the Texas territory was located in Houston. Then, Fritz and Ed McLemore broke away and formed their own promotion located in Dallas; and Fritz became sole owner after McLemore died of a heart attack. Then, it moves on to Fritz’s retirement and his boys moving into the ring. Some have said that Fritz pressured the boys into going into wrestling even thought they didn’t want to, but Kevin states that’s not true and that they all pretty much wanted to be wrestlers and follow in their dad’s footsteps. Also, many people on the documentary said that David was the best wrestler of the bunch, but Kevin and Kerry had more charisma than David. They also mention how popular the Von Erichs were in Texas, especially with the ladies. In fact, Kevin said that he got tired of getting kissed by women on his way to the ring. Then, it goes on to talk about WCCW’s innovative TV production. World Class was one of the first promotions to use multiple cameras and microphones, allowing viewers to see the matches at different angles and hear almost all the sounds in the ring. This gave their shows a high quality and put WCCW into high demand. Then, we get into a chapter about the Sportatorium. Even though many said that place was pretty much a excretory matterload, they were sad when it got torn down. Then, it gets into many famous WCCW wrestlers like, Iceman King Parsons, Kamala, Bill Iwrin, The Great Kabuki, The Missing Link, Bruiser Brody, and the Fabulous Freebirds. Another innovation was that WCCW would film personality profiles on each wrestlers to let the fans know just what this gimmick is all about. WCCW also had some great angles. They were one of the first to have the love triangle angle with Jimmy Garvin pushing his valet Sunshine out of the way for Precious. The Iceman King Parsons and Buddy Roberts feud, where Parsons caused Roberts to lose all his hair by putting “Freebird Hair-removing Cream” on his head, is mentioned. And, of course, the Freebird/Von Erich feud gets a long mention. It became the most storied feud in WCCW history, beginning in December of 1982 when Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy cost Kerry Von Erich the NWA World Title in a Steel Cage Match with Ric Flair. The feud would go on and off throughout the decade, with the last official Von Erich/Freebird match taking place in April of 1993. However, soon the tragedy shows up. David Von Erich’s death is mention. Reportedly, David died of an intestinal rupture from a stomach ailment in Japan. Though, some people in wrestling believe it was a drug overdose. Kevin states that it was a stomach rupture and not a drug overdose. Nevertheless, David’s death sent shockwaves throughout WCCW and Texas. His memorial show is also mention. At the show, Kerry Von Erich defeated Ric Flair for the NWA World Title. Though he and the Von Erichs were happy for the win, they did feel that it was a consolation from the NWA since David had died and never got a chance to win the NWA Title, which many believe he would have won had he lived. Also, Kerry lost the title 14 days later to Flair in Japan. This pretty much led to WCCW leaving the NWA. The NWA felt Kerry wasn’t a good choice for a long-term world champion since he had a reputation for being unreliable. And, Fritz wanted all his sons to be world champions and wanted Kerry to get the NWA World Title back. So, if they wouldn’t make him world champ, Fritz decided to leave the NWA and make the NWA American Title the WCCW World Heavyweight Title. The documentary then moves onto Chris Addams and Gino Hernandez. Then, it talks about the Israel Tour. WCCW had managed to develop a following in Israel, and Fritz decided to tour the country. While there, Mike Von Erich injured his shoulder. Once he got back to the states, he had surgery on the shoulder and during the operation developed toxic shock syndrome. He nearly died but did survive. As he recuperated, Fritz brought in a man named Rick Vaughn. Rick was billed as Lance Von Erich, the son of Fritz’s “brother” Waldo Von Erich. In actuality, Fritz wasn’t brothers with Walter Sieber, AKA Waldo Von Erich, and Vaughn wasn’t even Sieber’s son. He was basically billed as a Von Erich to replace Mike until he returned to the ring. The fans did not like Lance. Many in the company were against it, especially Kevin. Gary Hart said that he had no idea who Kevin Vaughn was when asked him what they though of Vaughn. You see, the fans didn’t like Lance so much that they didn’t even refer to him as Lance Von Erich. The fans knew he wasn’t a Von Erich and were going to play along with it. Then, Lance demanded more money from Fritz, but Fritz refused. So, Lance left WCCW for another promotion. Due to the fans loathing of Lance and him leaving the company, Fritz actually went on WCCW TV and said that Vaughn "in no way, shape or form related to the Von Erich family" and that his name would never be mentioned again. Michael Hayes said that bring in Lance was one of Fritz’s worst ideas ever. After that debacle, we get more on the Freebirds. Then, it mentions Chris Addams and Kevin Von Erich’s feud. Gino Hernandez is mentioned again, from teaming with Addams to blinding the Gentleman with that “Freebird Hair Cream.” However, the feud ended abruptly after Gino died of a cocaine overdose. On the documentary, many mention Gino’s drug addiction, with Kevin saying that he was very paranoid. Apparently, Gino believed that someone was out to kill him. Suspiciously, when Gino died, he had three times the amount of cocaine in his system to kill him; and the cocaine was even found in his stomach. And, Scotland Yard even question Chris Addams about Gino’s death; he was later ruled out as a prime suspect. However, it most likely that Gino just swallowed the cocaine that killed him. Kevin pretty much states this is what he believes happened. Yet, some people still believe that Gino was murdered. A touching moment comes from Gary Hart, who gets teary eyed talking about Hernandez, even saying that he can’t have a photo of Gino in his home or else he’ll start crying. Then, the withdrawal from the NWA is mentioned as are some of the first WCCW World Champions. Some were credible, like Chris Addams and Rick Rude; some weren’t, like Black Bart, a perennial midcarder who somehow became the promotion’s World Champion. Basically, he was WCCW’s Ron Garvin. Then, Kerry’s motor cycle accident, which took his foot, is mentioned. Even though some believe Fritz’s pressured Kerry to walk on the injured foot to get back in the ring early, it’s not mentioned on the DVD. Kevin states that Kerry just foolheartedly stepped on it before it fully healed; in fact, it’s been said he did this to get a hamburger that was across the room. Then, Mike Von Erich’s suicide is mentioned. It’s been said, especially on the documentary, that Mike was never the same after his near death from toxic shock syndrome. And, he basically killed himself because he felt he could live up to David’s legacy and was an embarrassment to the Von Erich family. Mike’s death began to hurt WCCW’s fortunes as the audiences began to decline after it. Fans had also become disillusioned by the Von Erich’s hard lifestyle and personal demons. Next, another bad move from Fritz Von Erich: the “heart attack.” WCCW Champion Al Perez and Kerry Von Erich, who had recently returned to the ring and was now wrestling with a prosthetic foot, were scheduled to face each other in a steel cage main event for the title, with Gary Hart handcuffed to Fritz to prevent interference. However, before the match began, Terry Gordy ran in and made disparaging remarks about Kerry and his motorcycle accident, which started a fight. Buddy Roberts, Iceman King Parsons and the late Angel of Death stormed the ring and handcuffed Fritz to the cage, delivering a furious beating while Kerry was cold-cocked by Perez. Eventually Kevin stormed the ring to save both Kerry and Fritz. After the attack, Fritz, who was normally seen walking away from vicious attacks under his own power, was assisted out of the ring by Kerry and Kevin. Upon leaving the ring, Fritz staged a seizure by self-collapsing onto the floor of Reunion Arena, and was supposedly rushed to a hospital; local news media reported this as a top story, not realizing until later that the entire incident had been a work. Kevin said that is wasn’t a heart attack; it was suppose to be a rib injury or something similar, but that the fans and media just shouted heart attack. Nevertheless, it was a bad idea, as fans didn’t want to see more tragedy with the Von Erich’s after two of them had died. Plus, it was also the start of the new Freebirds, without Michael Hayes, which was also a dumb thing to do since the stable worked the best with Hayes, Gordy, and Roberts. Hayes stated on the DVD that had the attack on Fritz been done before David and/or Mike’s deaths, it would have worked. Then, it goes onto when Ken Mantell, who was a booker in WCCW, became part owner, despite Kevin and Kerry’s protestations. The reason for the sale was that the promotion was losing money. Also, the horrible SuperClash III PPV was mentioned. It was a supercard promoted by the AWA, CWA, and WCCW do try and stop the fortunes the WWF was having at the time. It was the AWA’s only PPV, and there’s a good reason as it failed miserably. The top match was the AWA/WCCW Title Unification match between WCCW Champion Kerry Von Erich and AWA Champion Jerry “The King” Lawler. The match ended when the referee called it off due to massive amount of blood Kerry lost in the match. The finish hurt Kerry’s reputation and ended up costing WCCW. Mantell and the Von Erichs had no choice but to sell the promotion to Jerry Jarrett, who turned it into the western part of his United States Wrestling Association. Then, the USWA invades WCCW angle is mention. This was another bad angle in which the invaders were booked as the faces. If you remember, arguably the most successful invasion angle, the nWo Invasion of WCW, worked because the nWo were heels. However, the documentary doesn’t really go into much about this angle. Then, it touches on Kerry tenure in the WWF as the Texas Tornado. Though some on the documentary felt that he was good in the WWF, they also felt that Kerry’s better days were behind him. Then, Kevin talks about walking away from wrestling, basically because he felt it wasn’t fun anymore. Then comes the next Von Erich death: Chris Von Erich. He was the youngest son and badly wanted to be a wrestler. However, asthma and chronic injuries proved this would not be. Depressed, Chris shot himself. It’s really hard to hear Kevin tell the story of Chris’s death as he saw him the night Chris died and left just before Chris did it. In fact, if he had stayed, Chris would probably still be alive; but Kevin had no idea that Chris was going to kill himself. Then, Kerry’s death is mentioned. He killed himself after being convicted of cocaine possession. He felt this would be an embarrassment to the family and WCCW. They even show a clip of Kerry saying that he would rather die than let the WCCW fans down. Very chilling. After Kerry’s death, WCCW went under. They don’t really say how it went bankrupted. The reason was Jarrett had a disagreement with the Von Erichs and pulled out of Dallas. Then, the promotion lost it’s TV time on KTVT after 12 years. After that WCCW went. The supposed “curse” of the Von Erichs and WCCW is mentioned. Many people on the doc basically stated that there isn’t a curse. Triple H basically says that it was drugs and depression that did the Von Erich boys in and that their story was basically a PSA to not do drugs. Then, it ends with a little chapter on WCCW’s legacy. The special features are good. There are promos and vignettes: Chris Adams having tea with Bill Mercer; Iceman King Parsons dancing and beating up blocks of ice; two Freebird promos on the Von Erichs; Gino Hernandez at the airport, the hiliarious vignette where Jimmy Garvin and Sunshine had to work on David Von Erich’s farm for a day; a great promo from Jimmy Garvin introducing the world to Precious, Sunshine’s valet; Chris Addams and Gino Hernandez talking about how they are going to win a match with a car as the prize; and a vignette about Kerry Von Erich’s photography hobby. Also, there’s the Badstreet music video in glorious DVD quality! There are also extra interviews and stories: one on the Great Kabuki; Kevin Von Erich telling four stories: one about how Sunshine got into a fight with two girls in Israel even though she didn’t say anything to these girls, one about watching his dad wrestle, one where Kevin, as a child, shows Bobo Brazil a horse kick, which Brazil does in his match Fritz afterwards and wins, leading young Kevin to go to Bobo and say, “I hate you, Mr. Brazil!”, and one where Fritz made Kevin go and wrestle in Japan, even though he had a conscious that could kill him if he had been kicked in the head, and he did get kicked in the head, which pissed Kevin off so much that he dislocated his opponents knee and saying to some Japanese press “Like Pearl Harbor, he attacked me from behind; and like Hiroshima, I won.”; Dory Funk, Jr. talking about his feud with Fritz; Gary Hart telling the story of a plane crash he, Buddy Colt, Austin Idol, and Bobby Shane were in, which killed Shane; Jimmy Garvin talking about how painful the matches in Texas were; and Kevin explaining why he’s the only one of his brothers alive. Basically, it was luck. As for the matches, they’re good. The first match on the DVD has to be the oldest match WWE has ever released on DVD. It’s from Texas Rasslin’, the old show WCCW ran when it was Big Time Wrestling. It has to be from the late 1950s or early 1960s and is two-out-of-three falls between Duke Keomuka VS Ricky Starr. It’s very interesting to see such an old match, and I kind of enjoyed the old school style. There are some matches that were important to WCCW’s history, like Fritz’s last match against King Kong Bundy (he looks almost unrecognizable with hair and being smaller than he is today), the Iceman King Parson and Buddy Roberts match where Parson takes Roberts hair, and the Steel Cage match between Kerry Von Erich and Ric Flair with Michael Hayes as the special guest referee that started the Freebird/Von Erich feud; both matches are pretty good. However, there are some matches that have been excluded, like any 6-man tag featuring the Freebirds against David, Kevin, and Kerry, the infamous Hair VS Hair match between Gino Hernandez and Chris Addams & Kevin and Kerry Von Erich, and the match where Kerry Von Erich wins the NWA Title. However, there are three other matches from the David Von Erich Memorial show: Fritz, Mike, and Kevin Von Erich (though the DVD says it’s David) VS the Freebirds for the 6-Man Tag Team Titles, Chris Addams and Sunshine VS Jimmy Garvin and Precious, and The Great Kabuki VS Kamala; all good matches. Other matches include the Fantastics (Tommy Rogers and Bobby Fulton) VS the Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey) for the American Tag Team Titles, it takes place in two rings and has Cornette sitting next to a man called Little John (think Giant Gonzalez with a beard, overalls, and a beerbelly); a great match between Chris Addams and Kevin Von Erich; Bruiser Brody and the Missing Link VS One Man Gang and Rick Rude, and Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher in a Steel Cage. It’s a good match listing, but as I said earlier, some more deserving matches could have been on here. It could have also had more Gino Hernandez and Jimmy Garvin. All in all, this is another top quality DVD from WWE. It is sad to watch, but there are a lot of great moments in the special features that more than make up for that. It’s a great DVD for long time fans. And, to those casual fans, I’m sure they would like it. I mean, a lot of what WCCW is present in WWE. I’m not just saying WCCW was innovative. They had things in the early 1980s that common place today: from high productions to theme music to storylines centered around women, etc. And, that should be WCCW’s legacy. Sure, there was a lot of tragedy; but this promotion was very influential to pro wrestling. And, that should be the first thing people think about when they hear WCCW. Highlight: Badstreet, Atlanta GA! Badstreet in the whole USA! Recommended.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Jan 16, 2008 0:34:41 GMT -5
New year. New DVD review. The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak And Triumph. 3-Disc DVD. He's known my many nicknames: The Showstopper. The Icon. The Main Event. The Heartbreak Kid. But, we all know him as Shawn Michaels. He's one of the best wrestlers of all time, and this DVD chronicles his career. The documentary is pretty good. It starts with his birth, goes to his training to be a wrestler and starting out in the business in WCCW and Mid-South, and moves to his Rocker days with Marty Jannetty. The Rockers were one of the best tag teams of all time. They created many innovative double team moves and were one of the main reasons there is a lot of high flying moves in wrestling today. The DVD also talks about Marty and Shawn's breakup and Shawn starting a solo career in the WWF, with Sherri Martel as his manager and winning the Intercontinental Title. And, several of his most famous matches are mentioned: Hell In A Cell with the Undertaker, the Ladder Match at WrestleMania X with Razor Ramon, the Iron Man Match with Bret Hart, his return match in 2002 with Triple H, his match with Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XIX, etc. The documentary soon begins to walk a fine line between honesty and revisionist history. It talks about the Kliq, the backstage stable of Shawn, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Triple H, and Sean Waltman. Many people talk about the difficulties Shawn and the Kliq were known for backstage. Shawn even admits that he wouldn't return the WWF Intercontinental Title belt to Vince after testing positive for steroids in 1993, which he claims he took unknowingly. However, some of Shawn backstage politics is left off, like Shane Douglas's accusation that Shawn refused to job the Intercontinental Title to him and Shawn not wanting to lose to Bret at WrestleMania 13. The "lost smile" is also mention. Interesting fact, the "lost smile" excuse came from his mother; Shawn says that before he forfieted the title, she asked him when he "lost his smile." Shawn liked that and used it. There is also some implication that the reason for Shawn's obnoxious behavior at the time was due to the fact that he was the WWF Champion at a time when the WWF was low in the ratings and WCW was beating them week after week. This does make some sense, but doesn't really excuse Shawn for behaving the way he did in the 1990s. We also get D-Generation-X. This was one of my favorite times in Shawn's career. He and Triple H were so great playing those obnoxious heels back in 1997 and 1998. Then, it moves on to Montreal. Shawn and Hunter do admit that they knew about the Screwjob beforehand. They also say that they were told by Vince to deny that they had any knowledge of it. However, it comes off as if Bret didn't want to lose the WWF Title simply because he would have done so in Canada. There is no mention of Bret not wanting to do the job because Shawn had refused to job to him. Shawn also says that he's willing to sit down with Bret to resolve their past issues, but Bret is the one who doesn't want to do so. After that, the documentary moves on to Shawn's back injury in 1998 and him leaving for a few years. Shawn also talks about his drug problems, which had gone on for years and continued even though he was married and had a child. Shawn says that he wanted to get clean before his first son was born, but he just didn't. Eventually, Shawn did clean and found God. They do talk about how Shawn became a born again Christian; basically, it was because of his second wife, Rebecca Curci, AKA WCW Nitro Girl Whisper. They don't spend much time on his faith, but it is still an important part of the documentary. And, the infamous Shawn Michaels and God VS Vince and Shane McMahon match is mention. Then, it talks about Shawn's return to WWE, his feuds with Triple H, Chris Jericho, Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, etc. And, then the documentary ends with praisal of Shawn Michaels's career and wrestling skills. Overall, the documentary is good. At times, it is a little too bias to Shawn, but there is a good amount of honesty about his hard times to balance it. There are some good extra features. We get two promos: a Heartbreak Hotel from April 4, 1994, and the promo where Shawn impersonates Hulk Hogan on the Larry King Show. There is also the Tell Me A Lie music video; I believe it was made to hype up the Iron Man Match at WrestleMania XII. There are four deleted scenes: one on Shawn Michael's Wrestling Academy, one on how he became a Bible Teacher, one on a mountain climbing expedition he made with some friends, and one on his match with Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21. There are also some stories: one from his mom about how much of a prankster he was in high school, one from a high school friend about how he and Shawn put on a wrestling match for their high school talent show, one on how Shawn got his letter jacket, one on how Shawn needed his mom's approval on what wrestling attire to wear for his Rockers debut, one from Marty Jannetty on how Shawn was told to rub a towel on his face to create a fake bruise for an angle in the AWA only to be told by Greg Gagne that they weren't going to do that angle, another from Marty Jannetty on a fight that broke out between him and Shawn and how Randy Savage kept them from getting arrested by telling the cops the fight was just a wrestling angle, one on how Shawn was uneasy about jumping off the ladder at WrestleMania 22, and one on those horrible brown pants he wore at the 2002 Survivor Series. Then, there are the matches. Sure, his most famous ones aren't on here; but they have been released on other DVDs. So, we get some rare matches that are still just as good. Six of the matches involves the Rockers: VS Buddy Rose and Doug Somers for the AWA Tag Team Titles, VS Super Ninja and Ninja Go for the AWA Tag Team Titles, VS the Brainbusters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard), the infamous match with the Hart Foundation where the Rockers won the WWF Tag Team Titles only to have the decision overturned because the top rope broke and the match wasn't going to be aired on TV, VS the Orient Express at the 1991 Royal Rumble, and their reunion match in 2005 against La Resistance. As for the singles matches, we get one of Shawn's first matches, against Billy Jack Haynes in WCCW in 1985; two matches with the British Bulldog, one for the Intercontinental Title in 1992 and the other for the WWF Title at the 1996 King Of The Ring; the 1995 Royal Rumble, which is a veritable who's who of WrestleCrap, featuring The Blu Brothers, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Doink the Clown, Kwang, Well Dunn, Men On A Mission, Mantaur, Aldo Montoya, Henry O. Godwinn, Adam Bomb, etc.; an Intercontinental Title Match against Jeff Jarrett (I forgot how athletic and fast Jarrett use to be; the guy's on fire in this match); a World Heavyweight Title Match against Triple H on the last RAW of 2003; the WrestleMania 21 rematch against Kurt Angle at Vengeance 2005, and the infamous match against John Cena that last an hour on RAW back in April. Now, a lot of these matches are very good. Some are so-so, like the Billy Jack Haynes match; it's basically Haynes squashing Michaels in a minute; and the 1995 Royal Rumble. And, it would have been nice for at least one of Shawn's big matches to have been on here. Nevertheless, you won't be disappointed in most of them. All in all, it's a good DVD. It's not perfect, but it is good for what it is: a good chronicle of Shawn Michaels's career. Highlight: The Rockers VS The Brainbusters. Great match. You have a young Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty taking on Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard in their prime. It's just a fantastice outing from both teams. Recommended.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Jan 19, 2008 17:57:49 GMT -5
Time for some more DVD reviews: Planet Terror. 2-Disc DVD. As you all may or may not know, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino made a movie to together. “Grindhouse” was a tribute to all those exploitation movies that were made in the 1960s and 1970s. Unfortunately, only a few people really got what they were doing; and the movie tanked at the box office. So, to make their money back, the Weinstein brothers split the film into two parts since it was basically two movies in one. This is Robert Rodriguez’s movie, “Planet Terror.” In a rural town in Texas, go-go dancer 'Cherry Darling' (Rose McGowan) decides to quit her low-paying job and find another use for her numerous 'useless' talents. As she meets her mysterious ex-boyfriend El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) at the Bone Shack, a restaurant owned by JT Hague (Jeff Fahey), a group of military officials, led by the demented Lt. Muldoon (Bruce Willis), are making a business transaction with a scientist named Abby (Naveen Andrews) for mass quantities of a deadly biochemical agent known as DC2 (codename "Project Terror"), but when Muldoon learns Abby has an extra supply on hand, he attempts to take Abby hostage and as he does, Abby intentionally releases the gas into the air. The gas reaches the town area and turns its residents into deformed bloodthirsty psychopaths, mockingly referred to as "sickos" by the surviving humans. The infected townspeople are treated by the sinister Dr. William Block (Josh Brolin) and his abused, neglected anesthesiologist wife Dakota (Marley Shelton) at a local hospital. As the patients quickly become enraged aggressors, Cherry and Wray lead a team of accidental warriors into the night, struggling to find safety. “Planet Terror” is a great movie. It’s one of the best zombie movies I’ve ever seen. Rodriguez put a lot of work into making it. The effects and direction are top notch. The film really looks like it has been aged for years. The effects team also did a good job making Rose McGowan look like she has one leg and with the zombie make-up. Also, the actors did a great job walking a thin line between acting bad and stinking up the joint. All in all, the film feels like it was made in the 1970s. In fact, the only thing really missing is the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crew making fun of the movie as it plays. Special features include the trailer for “Machete,” which should be put on celluloid right goddamn now!!!!; commentary from Robert Rodriguez; an audience reaction track; the international trailer; poster gallery; a 10-minute film school from Rodriguez, in which Rodriguez promises a two-disc “Grindhouse” DVD; and featurettes on the actors in the movie, the stunts in the movie, and Rodriguez casting his son Rebel (Tony Block, Dr. Block and Dakota’s son), his friend Tommy Nix (an EMT who gets eaten), his doctor Dr. Felix Sabates (himself), and his real estate agent Skip Reissig (Skip, the strip club owner). The special features are nice and go well with the movie. Though, there could have been more, like the other trailers that were originally in the “Grindhouse” movie. I guess we’ll have to wait for the “Grindhouse” DVD. Highlight: The “Machete” trailer. Danny Trejo is the smurfING MAN!!!! Recommended.
|
|
|
Post by Big Daddy Bad Booking on Jan 19, 2008 20:22:12 GMT -5
I saw almost all the discs reviewed on this page except for the WCCW one. Nice reviews!
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Jan 19, 2008 22:27:47 GMT -5
Yes, you get another DVD review today. Death Proof. 2-Disc DVD. Remember earlier, when I did a review of “Planet Terror,” I said it was one of the two movies that made up “Grindhouse.” This is the other, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Three friends—Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito), Shanna (Jordan Ladd) and radio disc jockey Jungle Julia Lucai (Sydney Poitier)—spend a night in Austin, Texas celebrating Jungle Julia's birthday, unknowingly followed by a mysterious man in a souped-up 1970 Chevy Nova. The man, Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), stalks the young women with his 'death proof car,' leading to a deadly encounter. Fourteen months later, Stuntman Mike, now equipped with an equally deadly 1969 Dodge Charger, stalks another group of young women—Lee (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Abernathy (Rosario Dawson), Kim (Tracie Thoms), and Zoë Bell (herself)—working below the line in Hollywood, whose 1970 Dodge Challenger proves a worthy adversary. This time, Stuntman Mike may have picked the wrong target. I like “Death Proof.” In fact, I preferred it to “Planet Terror.” I know most people felt the other way, and I can see why. Some are the Tarantino haters who say that he almost always plagiarizes other movies to make his. And, it’s hard to argue with that. However, it isn’t really plagiarism unless you cite your sources. And, since Tarantino usually says what movies inspired his movies on the DVDs and in interviews, I see that it’s not really a big deal. Hell, hasn’t most movies, TVs, and literature come from other fictional works? Hell yeah! I mean, nobody called William Faulkner a plagiarist when he wrote The Sound and the Fury, a book narrated by an idiot and gets its name from the Shakespeare Macbeth. (From Macbeth: Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player/That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/And then is heard no more: it is a tale/'Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing...) Or, does anyone really care that George Lucas got the plot for “Star Wars: A New Hope” from Akira Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress” and has influences from everything from “Flash Gordon” to Nazi Germany? Not really. So, why bust Quentin’s balls on filming his films in a similar style to other films? But, I digress. Also, most people didn’t like it because it’s long, has lots of dialogue, and hardly any action. And, yes, that can be boring; but I didn’t the movie such. I was captivated by the dialogue. That is one of Tarantino’s strong points. He is so great at writing that sounds real and authentic and not restating the plot. Plus, the acting is top notch. Kurt Russell is fantastic. He’s got charisma coming out of every pore of his body; he’s just so cool, suave, funny, creepy, and scary at the same time. And, the girls are great, especially Zoë Bell; and I mention her specifically because this is basically she’s acted in a major motion picture. But, it would definitely be hard to tell; she comes off as a pro. Plus, Tarantino did a great job directing it. He did capture the exploitation feel, but he more subtle than Robert Rodriguez. “Planet Terror” has effects that make the film look very old, and at times, it can come off too strong as the aging effects are almost bombarding. “Death Proof” doesn’t have that many aging effects. In fact, you will hardly even notice them, and they eventually disappear by the second half of the film. But, it is a Grindhouse film. Also, there’s the music. Tarantino has an uncanny ability to pick out the right music for a scene and using such obscure and unknown songs that most have probably never even heard. Sure it’s slow at times, but it’s building to the final cash scene, which is spectacular. Hell, this movie is basically celluloid sex. The first half is foreplay. There’s some teasing and flirting, and then things heat up and get hotter. Then, we get the first crash, which is basically the girl getting naked. Then comes the second half, but the viewer doesn’t “come” yet. Then, the building process begins. It just builds and builds, and then comes the case. Things start picking up. The movie and the viewer move faster and faster and faster and faster. Then, finally, when the girls beat the living crap out of Stuntman Mike…BAM!!!! Money shot, baby! All in all, it’s a great film and definitely a Grindhouse movie. In fact, all this movie really needs is the silhouette of Crow T. Nelson, Tom Servo, and Mike and/or Joel at the bottom of the screen, making jokes and sarcastic remarks. Special features include trailers for the film, a poster gallery, an uncut scene of Mary Elizabeth Winstead singing (she has an amazing voice), and featurettes on the stunts of the film, Zoë Bell, Kurt Russell, the other girls and guys in the film, the editor Sally Menke, and a trailer for the documentary “Double Dare,” which is about Bell and legendary stuntwoman Jeannie Epper. They are okay, nothing spectacular, but they do add some to the film and go with time perfectly. Also, there are scenes that were in “Death Proof” when it was originally released in “Grindhouse,” like the lap dance Butterfly gives to Stuntman Mike. However, they are put back into the film, so they’re not really special features. But, they do need to be noted. Also, as I noted earlier, there will be a “Grindhouse” DVD, so I suspect these features will be a part of that DVD. So, you can wait for that DVD to come out, or you can get “Planet Terror” and “Death Proof” now. Or, you can get all three. I don’t really care. It’s your money. Highlight: the lap dance Vanessa Ferlito gives to Kurt Russell. Small SPOILER: It’s the sexiest thing I’ve seen on film that didn’t have any nudity. End of SPOILER. Recommended if you really like Tarantino or the “Grindhouse” movie when it came out. Mildly recommended if not.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Feb 15, 2008 19:18:40 GMT -5
It’s time for another DVD Review!!!! Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters For DVD 2-Disc DVD Ever since Aqua Teen Hunger Force premiered on December 30, 2000, televisions viewers have wondered: “WHAT THE smurf IS THIS crap!!!!?” Well, it was basically a show about living fast food items that weren’t aquatic, weren’t teenagers, and didn’t really do anything forceful. The episodes didn’t really have much of a plot, but there were jokes. And, then it became a movie, which was released on DVD, and that’s why we’re here today. The movie itself is just batcrap insane, but there is a story: the Aqua Teens, Master Shake (Dana Snyder), Frylock (Carey Means), and Meatwad (Dave Willis), end up putting together the Insanoflex, an exercise machine Master Shake stole from Carl (Willis). The Plutonians, Emory (Mike Schatz) and Oglethorpe (Andy Merrill) and Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future (Matt Maiellaro) try to stop them from putting it together, but they are too late as Carl has been hooked up to the machine and forced to work out when it turns into a giant robot that lays eggs and destroys the city. It is up to the Aqua Teens to stop the Insanoflex machines from destroying New Jersey, but they don’t. Instead, they end up going on a journey to learn their secret origins. Time Lincoln (Fred Arminsen), Dr. Weird (C. Martin Croker), Steve (Croker), the Mooninites, Err (Maiellaro) and Ignignokt (Willis), Space Ghost (George Lowe), MC Pee Pants (Chris Ward), Neil Pert (Neil Pert), a talking burrito (Tina Fey), a talking chicken tender (Bruce Campbell), two CIA agents (H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Glaser), a black slave owner (Isaac Hayes III), and a talking watermelon (Chris Kattan) also appear. The movie is pretty funny. It has quite a bit of laugh-out-loud moments and is completely smurfing insane. Special features include an 80 minute deleted movie (it’s very similar to the actual movie and is of low quality, animation wise); behind the scenes featurette called “The Thing We Shot Wed. Night”; theatrical trailer; the alternate theatrical trailer; the sizzle reel (which basically looks like the theatrical trailer); 10 fake endings; deletes scenes: the 22-minute Star-Studded Xmas Spectacular episode, a cameo from Larry Blackmon of Cameo, the Plutonians phone fighting the answering machine, the Plutonians dorm room extended, Meatwad’s concert extended, pushing the Insanoflex box extended, the Mooninites and Plutonians on the roller coaster extended, and a scene in which Shake explains the Aqua Teen’s origins; music videos for Nashville Pussy, 9lb Hammer, Mastodon, the Lobby Singers, and Cameo; live performances for Brass Castle, 9lb Hammer, and Unearth; promos for the movie from Pete ; commentary from Patti Smith, Todd Hanson, Dana Snyder, and Fred Arminsen; an interview with Dana Snyder and Bob Odenkirk; art and music gallery; and a short Jon Schnepp 3D cartoon similar to the end credits to the show. The special features are pretty cool. As for the DVD, it is a must buy for Aqua Teen fans. If you have never seen the TV show before, then you’ll just be confused, angry, and will possibly return it to the store you bought it at by shoving the DVD down one of the employee’s throats. Highlight: [SPOILERS] Frylock reveals that he is a WOMAN!!!! [/SPOILERS] Recommended, especially for Aqua Teen fans.
|
|
|
Post by tomservo23 on Feb 15, 2008 19:52:49 GMT -5
Another DVD review for you good people: The Venture Bros. Season 2. 2-Disc DVD. \22. "Guess Who's Coming to State Dinner?"—September 10, 2006 2-21 When the Gargantua-1 Space Station breaks orbit and crashes into a number of wanted terrorists, Colonel Bud Manstrong becomes a national hero. But did it really happen, or is Bud's mother, the indomitable Mrs. Manstrong, behind an insidious plot to assassinate the President? The mysterious blinking bandage on Bud's neck might be the key to a mystery only the ghost of Abraham Lincoln and Team Venture can solve. If you like “The Manchurian Candidate,” then this episode is for you. Or not; I don’t know. Anyway, we have the return of super-square Bud Manstrong, with his foul-mouth and horny-for-Brock mother. Also, we has Lincoln’s ghost trying to stop the assassination plot of the President with Hank, Dean, and a lot of 5 dollar bills. Plus, we learn the wonderful powers of club soda. 10/10. 24. "¡Viva los Muertos!"—October 1, 2006 2-24 When Dr. Venture finally succeeds in attaining the holy grail of superscience, the revivification of a human corpse for fun and profit, a washed up gang of wandering former teen sleuths is convinced that the Venture Compound is haunted. Their investigation uncovers something far creepier. Meanwhile, Orpheus shepherds Brock through a crisis of conscience with the help of a New Age shaman and a bizarre tea party. This is weirdest episode of the whole series, and that’s saying something. I mean, we have a crazier and more evil version of the Scooby Doo gang, Dr. Venture creating his own Frankenstein monster, and Brock having a drug dream involving a pink dolphin and giant version of his mentor, who’s naked with his female body. A very sexy giant female body…I better stop again. 10/10. Agree to disagree about this two. I thought they were the two worst episodes ever. I still loved the season overall. p.s. Bowie was voiced by James Urbaniak, who also does Dr. Venture. I don't know if I would call it a bad impersonation persay, because the guy is talented.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Feb 16, 2008 18:44:59 GMT -5
Yes, I have nothing better to do than review DVDs. Remember That Night: David Gilmour Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2-Disc DVD. I don’t if any of you know this, but I’m a bit of a Pink Floyd fan. ;D So, when I saw this DVD of featuring David Gilmour from his concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2006, I had to get it. The man is one of the best guitarists of all times, and he can still play wonderfully and beautifully at age 61. The concert itself is very good. It has a good mix of Gilmour’s solo work from his latest album On An Island and some classic Pink Floyd tunes. In fact, here’s the set list: "Speak to Me," "Breathe," "Time," "Breathe (Reprise)," "Castellorizon," "On an Island" (with David Crosby and Graham Nash), "The Blue" (with David Crosby and Graham Nash), "Red Sky at Night," "This Heaven," "Then I Close My Eyes" (with Robert Wyatt), "Smile," "Take a Breath," "A Pocketful of Stones," "Where We Start," "Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5" (with David Crosby and Graham Nash), "Fat Old Sun," "Coming Back to Life," "High Hopes," "Echoes," "Wish You Were Here," "Find the Cost of Freedom" (with David Crosby and Graham Nash), "Arnold Layne" (with David Bowie), and "Comfortably Numb" (with David Bowie). It also has a wonder light show to accompany the music. It’s a little different from the ones used in Pink Floyd, but Floyd fans should enjoy it. Also, two funny parts happen with Graham Nash and David Crosby standing on the stage when they’re not singing and the rest of the band is playing and from some bald guy dancing to the guitar solo of “Comfortably Numb.” The second disc contains bonus features: bonus tracks from the Albert Hall concerts, “Wot's... Uh the Deal,” “Dominoes,” “Wearing the Inside Out,” “Arnold Layne” (with Richard Wright), “Comfortably Numb” (with Richard Wright); a video for “Dark Globe,” “Astronomy Domine” and an acoustic version of “Echoes” (Hidden track after Dark Globe) from Live from Abbey Road; music videos for “On an Island” and “Smile”; “This Heaven” from the AOL Sessions; a video for “Island Jam” (January 2007 version) recorded at 'The Barn' (it looks like Gilmour’s barn); footage from the Mermaid Theatre concert (March 2006), “Castellorizon,” “On an Island,” “The Blue,” “Take A Breath,” “High Hopes”; 3 documentaries: one filmed between shows in Los Angeles with some shots by Richard Wright known as the 'West Coast Documentary,' 'Breaking Bread, Drinking Wine', a tour documentary by Gavin Elder, which features an appearance from Nick Mason and Roger Waters, and The making of 'On An Island'; and a photo gallery and credits. The special features are fantastic, and there are many good performances, especially “Astronomy Domine” and the acoustic “Echoes.” All in all, it’s a great DVD and a must have, especially for Pink Floyd and David Gilmour fans. Highlight: There were so many great performances on this DVD, but in my opinion, the best one was of “Echoes” during the concert. It sounds just as good as it does on the Meddle album, and the light show accompanying it is amazing. Highly recommended, especially for Pink Floyd and David Gilmour fans.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on May 3, 2008 22:49:55 GMT -5
Well, I'm bored and have nothing to do. DVD review time: Blade Runner: The Final Cut 2-Disc Edition The Los Angeles of 2019 is a dark, polluted, overcrowded dystopia dominated by cloud-piercing buildings and looming neon billboards, the air dense with acid rain and flying traffic. World-weary Rick Deckard, a retired police assassin, or "blade runner," has been called out of retirement to liquidate four escaped "replicants," genetically derived androids of great strength, intelligence, and nearly-human emotion who serve as slaves and prostitutes in the off-planet colonies. Led by Roy Batty, they've come to Los Angeles to confront their designer, Eldon Tyrell, with their unhappiness about the brevity of their four-year life span. In the course of his search, Deckard becomes romantically entwined with Tyrell's lovely assistant, Rachael, and must eventually confront Batty in an unforgettable rain-soaked sequence. "Blade Runner" is one of the most visually stunning and emotionally powerful movies ever made. And, it's been through a lot since the first draft of the script was written way back in the late 1970s. It was a bitch to make, wasn't a box office hit thanks to "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," and got mixed reviews from critics. And, let's not forget the multiple cuts. There are seven versions of this movie out there: 1. Original workprint version (1982, 113 minutes) shown to audience test previews in Denver, Dallas and London in March 1982. It was also seen in 1990 and 1991 in Los Angeles and San Francisco as a Director's Cut without Scott's approval. Negative responses to the test previews led to the modifications resulting in the U.S. theatrical version while positive response to the showings in 1990 and 1991 pushed the studio to approve work on an official director's cut. It was re-released with the 5-disc Ultimate Edition in 2007. 2. A San Diego Sneak Preview shown only once in May 1982, which was identical to the Domestic Cut with three extra scenes. 3. The U.S. theatrical version (1982, 115 minutes), known as the original version or Domestic Cut, released on VHS in 1983 and re-released in 1992 as a "10th Anniversary Edition." 4. The International Cut (1982, 117 minutes) also known as the "Criterion Edition" or uncut version, included more violent action scenes than the U.S. theatrical version. Although initially censored in the U.S. and available in European and Asian theatrical and local Warner Home Video LD releases, it was later released on VHS and Criterion Collection Laserdisc in North America. 5. The U.S. broadcast version (1986, 86 minutes), the U.S. theatrical version edited for profanity and nudity by CBS to meet broadcast restrictions. 6. The Ridley Scott-approved (1992, 117 minutes) Director's Cut; prompted by the unauthorized 1990-1 workprint theatrical release and made available on VHS in 1994 (1993 in Japan), on Laserdisc in 1995 and on DVD in 1997. Significant changes from the theatrical version include: removal of Deckard's voice-over, re-insertion of a unicorn sequence and removal of the studio-imposed happy ending. 7. Ridley Scott's Final Cut (2007, 117 minutes), or the "25th Anniversary Edition", released by Warner Bros. theatrically on October 5, 2007 and subsequently released on DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray in December 2007 (U.K. Dec. 3; U.S. Dec. 18). This is the only version over which Ridley Scott had complete artistic control; the Director's Cut was rushed and he was not directly involved. In conjunction with the Final Cut, extensive documentary and other materials were produced for the home video releases culminating in a five-disc "Ultimate Collector's Edition" release by Charles de Lauzirika. The DVD I watched today was the 2-disc edition of the Final Cut. The movie is still wonderful. It will never lose its aesthetic impact. The Final Cut is Ridley Scott's favorite version of the movie; he even says so in an introduction before the movie. I'm not surprise. He finally got to present the film the way he always wanted to. For years, the 1992 Director's Cut was the only one closest to Scott's vision. That has changed. The Final Cut contains many differences from the 1992 Director's Cut: The fireballs in the opening refinery shot are correctly synchronized with the associated light play on the smokestacks. Some of these had been off-sync in earlier versions; the shot of Deckard waiting to eat at the White Dragon has been shortened, its editing reminiscent of the workprint version of the shot, which was done due to the removal of the voiceover; smoke has been added behind the cook when he serves Deckard; the cables lifting Gaff's police spinner are no longer plainly visible; cables were also removed from another shot of a spinner late in the film, just before Deckard enters Sebastian's apartment building; as Deckard enters Bryant's office, Bryant's statement "I've got four skinjobs walking the streets" is no longer obviously a spliced-in re-recording; Bryant's line "One of them got fried running through an electrical field" is changed to "Two of them..." to remove the numerical inconsistency later on; Bryant adds a new line about Leon being able to lift 400 pound atomic loads all day and night, which is from the work print; when Gaff and Deckard first appear at Leon's apartment, the landlord now says "Kowalski", another small bit originally from the workprint; a background behind Batty when he is first introduced speaking to Leon has been changed, as the shot was taken from a later scene and has now been corrected to appear as if Batty is actually in the phone booth as Leon finds him; Deckard's conversation with the snake merchant Abdul Ben Hassan has been altered so that the dialogue is no longer out of sync; Ford's son, Ben, lip-synched the spoken dialog and his mouth was digitally placed over his father's; a shot of the busy crowds in the streets was restored, immediately after that, a shot of two strippers wearing hockey goalie masks was restored, and there's a shot of Deckard talking to another police officer just prior to Deckard entering the Snake Pit (These three shots had previously appeared in slightly different form in the workprint version.); the original full-length version of the unicorn dream has been restored (Deckard is shown to be awake, previously he was asleep or nearly asleep.), which is much different than the one that appeared in the Director's Cut, and has never been in any version seen by the public prior to this one; during Deckard's pursuit of Zhora, Joanna Cassidy's face has been digitally superimposed over that of the stunt double, Lee Pulford (This scene was re-filmed specifically for the Final Cut. Although great effort had been undertaken to replace stunt double face with Cassidy's, the tan-colored protective suit Pulford wore to protect against glass cuts is still visible.); a scar on Deckard's face after his "retirement" of Zhora has been removed (Originally, the scene in which Deckard meets Bryant after retiring Zhora was to take place after his encounter with Leon, explaining the scar. This was done prior to the removal of the "sixth replicant," creating a continuity error. Due to the re-ordering, the scar was always present before Deckard had actually gotten it.); when Batty confronts Tyrell, he says, "I want more life, father." (from the workprint version, an alternate take intended for but never used in television broadcasts of the film), as opposed to the original line "I want more life, snorker." (The line also has a noticeably deeper tonal quality than the previous versions.); after killing Tyrell, Batty says "I'm sorry Sebastian. Come. Come." when in the original he merely approached the frightened Sebastian (This is also from the workprint.); all the violent scenes in the International Cut (Tyrell's death, the confrontation between Deckard and Pris and the nail through Batty's bleeding hand) that were deleted in the U.S. theatrical release and Director's Cut are restored to the Final Cut; after Batty releases the dove, it now flies up into a dark rainy sky instead of a blue sky. Honestly, I didn't notice the differences, except for Tyrell's death and the Zhora's death (THANK GOD THEY PUT JOANNA CASSIDY'S FACE ON THE STUNT DOUBLE!!!! THAT HAS DRIVEN ME CRAZY EVER SINCE I FIRST SAW IT!!!!). I was drawn into the story that I didn't notice the changes from the Director's Cut. Though, the quality of the film in the Final Cut is quite amazing. "Blade Runner" looks the best it probably ever has. And, if you're wondering about that whole "Deckard's a replicant" theme, the film doesn't outright say that he's a replicant. There are subtleties that imply that he might be a replicant. In fact, the only way you can tell that Deckard is a replicant is by knowing that Ridley Scott said he was one: video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-6774128243172902888The special features include commentaries by Ridley Scott; executive producer/co-screenwriter Hampton Fancher and co-screenwriter David Peoples, producer Michael Deely and production executive Katherine Haber; and visual futurist Syd Mead, production designer Lawrence G. Paull, art director David L. Snyder and special photographic effects supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich and David Dryer. On Disc 2 is the documentary "Dangerous Days: Making 'Blade Runner.'" This documentary goes into great detail about the making of the film. And, when I say great detail, I mean GREAT DETAIL! It's 3 hours and 30 minutes long. That may sound quite extensive for one movie, and, honestly, it is. The documentary lagged at some parts, mainly the parts about making the special effects. However, there are some good parts, like the tensions on the set among Ridley Scott and the crew and financers; scenes that didn't make it into the film (like Zhora's snake dance, a scene where Deckard "retires" a replicant hiding as a farmer, a sex scene between Deckard and Rachel, and Batty finding out Tyrell is a replicant and has been dead for years); and other filmmakers talking about the impact the film has had. And, it features practically everyone who worked on the film. In fact, those who didn't appear on the DVD where the people who have died since the movie was made. It's a pretty good documentary, but, like I said, it drags on in some places. Unless you are really interested in "Blade Runner," then you might not like it. All in all, this is a good DVD. Though, I did rent it; but that's mainly because I'm hoping to one day get the Ultimate 5-Disc DVD in that cool briefcase cover! Highlight: Scenes of the cut sex scene in the documentary. Yes, I'm going for the perverted choice. So sue me. Recommended.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Jun 30, 2008 21:03:50 GMT -5
It’s been a while, so here’s a DVD Review: Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs Since I did a review of the first Futurama movie, it just makes sense to do one of the latest one. Anyway, the last one, “Bender’s Big Score,” ended with Bender causing all his copies to not come up when they were suppose to, thus creating a huge rip in the universe. This one picks up a month after that event. Here’s the plot, though I should warn you: THIS PLOT IS LONG AND COMPLICATED AND CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!! IF YOU DON'T WANT IT RUIN, OR DON'T WISH TO FEEL THE EVERLASTING LOVE OF YIVO, THEN: After a month of inactivity following the events of Bender's Big Score, having resulted in the universe being ripped apart, people decide to go on with their lives. Amy and Kif get married, and Fry starts a new relationship with a girl named Colleen. However, it is not long before he realizes that Colleen has four additional boyfriends. Fry is unable to accept that she can't settle for one man and breaks up with her. Professor Farnsworth mounts an expedition to investigate the anomaly, beating his archrival Wernstrom in a game of "Deathball" to win the right to do so. When Bender is sent to explore it, his touch causes the anomaly to emit a shockwave, which sends the entire crew flying aimlessly into space. Farnsworth and Wernstrom discover that only living beings can pass through the anomaly unaffected; electrical things such as robots are destroyed. Before they can initiate another expedition, Zapp Brannigan is commissioned to destroy whatever is on the other side. Meanwhile, both Fry and Bender feel alone and unwanted. Fry, in his depression, sneaks aboard Zapp's ship just before it takes off so that he can find solace on the other side of the anomaly; Bender, on the other hand, is approached by the fabled League of Robots, a secret society of robots led by his hero Calculon, and quickly becomes a very prestigious member due to his perceived hatred of humans. As Fry enters the anomaly, Zapp's plan of attack unsurprisingly goes awry, and Kif is accidentally killed in the process, much to Amy's grief back on Earth. While drifting through space on the other side, which contains another universe, Fry comes across a colossal, one-eyed, tentacled creature, which begins forcing its appendages through the anomaly. The tentacles begin attacking everyone on Earth, and there is absolutely no stopping them as they are made of electromatter, which can only be harmed by other electromatter. Fry returns to Earth, having been attached to one of the tentacles, and tells everyone to submit to them, as he has fallen in love with the creature they're attached to. Fry becomes the pope of a religion worshipping the tentacles. The tentacles begin attaching themselves to the back of everyone's necks, causing them to love the creature as well. Bender, meanwhile, believes that the League of Robots should uphold a strict no-humans policy being that he feels so insignificant around them. However, when he assists his friends in eluding the tentacles, he is caught red-handed by the other members. When Calculon calls his bluff about hating humans, he challenges Calculon to a duel in which he breaks the rules. Calculon is so outraged by his behavior that he resigns from the League, inexplicably naming Bender its new leader. While outrunning the tentacles, Zapp talks Amy into sleeping with him to ease the pain of Kif's death before tentacles bond with them both, leaving Leela as the last living person in the universe unattached to a tentacle. She examines a fragment of tentacle that snapped off trying to catch her and discovers that that the tentacles are actually reproductive organs. She reveals this to everyone at a universal religious gathering just as the creature, calling itself "Yivo", speaks for the first time. Yivo admits that mating with everyone in the universe was its original intention, but explains that it is now truly in love with them. As a sign of good faith, Yivo resurrects Kif, who reunites with Amy, and takes its tentacles out of everyone. Yivo takes everyone in the universe out on a date at the same time. Though the night goes well, everyone feels that Yivo has made no commitment and decide to break up with it. Before they can do so, however, Yivo proposes to them. Everyone is so touched that they accept, entering the anomaly and moving onto Yivo's body via golden escalators; around this time, Bender organizes an army of robots to take over the world and rebuild his human-hating reputation in the League, only to witness humanity leave willingly, which makes Bender lonely, as well as stagnating the robot population, who are built to serve humans. As the robots inherit Earth, everyone else is made to promise never to make contact with other universes. Fry, however, cannot help but write a letter to Bender back on Earth, which is sent without Yivo knowing. Leela doesn't trust Yivo's motives, but when she sees that everyone is happy with it, she eventually comes to accept Yivo. Bender receives Fry's letter and finds that it is made of electromatter, so decides to set out and "rescue" his friend. He and his army harpoon Yivo from beyond the anomaly and drag it into their own universe where they attack it. Fry convinces Bender to spare Yivo, but Yivo discovers that the robots' weapons are lined with the electromatter from Fry's letter, allowing them to harm it. Since Fry broke his promise to never make contact with any other universes, Yivo breaks up with everyone. Yivo finds consolation with Colleen, and they begin a single relationship as they head back to the other universe together through the closing anomaly. Everyone laments how they will never know love or happiness with Yivo again. Bender assures them that what they experienced was not love, as love doesn't share itself with the world, or so he claims. Bender shares his love with Fry and Leela by giving them a big hug, which strangles them. END OF SPOILERS!!!! YOU MAY RESUME READING!!!! This was a very funny movie. It featured some characters that weren’t heavily featured in “Bender’s Big Score”: President Nixon, Hedonismbot, Zapp Brannigan, and Kif have bigger rolls; plus, we get more of Calculon, The Robot Devil, Lrrr, Amy’s parents, Zoidberg’s uncle, and more. It also features some new characters: we meet Kif’s parents, Brittany Murphy appears as Fry’s new nonmonogamous girlfriend Colleen, Stephen Hawking appears as his own head in a jar, and David Cross plays the title character, The Beast With A Billions Backs, AKA Yivo. As for the plot, it’s pretty weird. It has to be the strangest romance movie I have ever seen. I mean, you have a relationship between every living being in the universe and a giant tentacled alien. And, Bender’s dickish ways reach an all-time high, but it is done out of love for Fry. So, it’s kind of sweet. But, the movie ends on a bit of a downer. Nevertheless, it is still quite good. In fact, I preferred it to “Bender’s Big Score.” The plot isn’t as complicated as its predecessor. I found it to be a little funnier than the previous movie. And, it has DEATHBALL!!!! What’s not to love? The special features include: commentary by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Michael Rowe, Claudia Katz, Peter Avanzino, and Lee Supercinski; Futurama: the Lost Adventure (they basically took footage from the Futurama Videogame and made it into an episode); Deleted Scenes; Storyboard animatic (30 minutes of the film in storyboard form); Blooperama (footage of the cast doing the voices for their characters); 3D models with the animators discussing how they were made; A Brief History of Deathball (it’s a little disappointing; they just explain how they came up with Deathball instead of giving us a fictionalized history that I would have preferred); David Cross explaining his character and eating popcorn; and a preview of the next Futurama movie, “Bender’s Big Game” ( {Spoiler}Basically the crew gets stuck in a real life giant Dungeons and Dragons game ). While this movie may have been better than the last, I preferred the special features of the last DVD. They were a lot funnier; these seem more serious and more focused on how the movie was made. But, I still enjoyed this DVD: a definite recommend from me. Though, I just wish there had been more Hypnotoad: ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD!!!! Highlight: there’s a deleted scene in which Scruffy gets possessed by Yivo and says “The day of reckonin’ is comin’…I reckon.” I just found it hilarious! Recommended, mainly for the movie, and a definite buy for Futurama fans.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Sept 13, 2008 22:24:47 GMT -5
DVD review time. The Life And Times With Mr. Perfect. 2-Disc DVD Curt Hennig was one of the best wrestlers of all time. He was a former AWA World Heavyweight Champion and the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of the 1990s. He was great in the ring, a good technical wrestler with some high flying and brawling skills. And, he was very charismatic and good on the mic. Outside of the ring, he was pretty good at anything he tried: baseball, basketball, football, hockey, golf, darts, bowling, chess, ping pong, diving, hunting, fishing, etc. He was absolutely PERFECT. Ironically, this DVD is not. You see, a lot is left out. There are no details about Curt's relationship with Verne Gagne in the AWA. There’s no delving into how Hulk screwed Curt out of winning the Rumble, resulting in Curt winning the IC belt. There is no real mention of his feud with Hulk Hogan in 1989 except for some vignettes and a WWF Title Match against Hogan. There’s no real mention of his babyface run in 1993 except for one match against Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam 1993. The documentary doesn’t mention his WM X comeback and leaving again for awhile (most likely cause Lex is involved). His interference for Hunter during the Mero match was overstated and misrepresented, like he was Triple H's manager or something. No reason is really given for why Curt left for WCW, i.e. no "problems" with Vince. It didn’t mention much about his time in WCW and didn’t go into much detail about the feud between the West Texas Rednecks and the No Limit Soldiers, i.e. they just said that Curt was in a group called the West Texas Rednecks and didn’t mention the Soldiers at all, which is a real shame because we have deprived of Swoll saying “Hoody Hoo!” on DVD! The "Plane Ride From Hell" isn’t mentioned at all; hell, they didn’t even state why Curt was released from WWE in 2002. There is no delving in to why he was doing cocaine. The DVD doesn’t feature his match against Tito Santana in which he won the Intercontinental Title, the King Of The Ring match with Bret Hart (though that is on the Bret Hart DVD), the tag match with Macho Man against Ric Flair and Razor Ramon at the 1992 Survivor Series, the Loser Leaves Town match against Flair on RAW (thought that is on the RAW 15th Anniversary DVD, no matches with Flair in WCW, and no match from his 2002 WWE run. And, it skips too much in between, 1993 and 1998. However, this DVD shows how good WWE is at putting together DVDs: even though it is pretty much half-assed, it is still a damn good DVD. The documentary focuses more on Curt Hennig the person rather than his career. It doesn’t really focus on the negatives of Curt’s life but rather spotlights the positives, which was really nice. It’s also a little sad considering how Curt died and everyone talking about it. But, that doesn’t hinder the DVD, only adds to it. Other good parts of the documentary are Wade Boggs appearing on it and sharing the story of how Curt saved his life on a hunting trip. His first stint in the WWF in 1982 is mention; there’s even a match from that era with Eddie Gilbert. And, the DVD features appearances from Tony Garea, Hulk Hogan (near the end of the doc), and Brock Lesnar (this was filmed when he was with the company). But, the real treats of this DVD are the special features. It has Hennig’s Hall Of Fame induction, the “Rap Is Crap” music video, several vignettes of Curt being Perfect (the documentary also talked about the filming of the vignettes, and Bruce Prichard killed the myth of Hennig being Perfect; apparently, Hennig could do all the things he did on the vignette, just not when he was being filmed. When he knew the camera was on, he couldn’t hit a basket or get bull’s eye to save his life. So, Prichard and director Kerwin Silfies just didn’t tell him he was being filmed, filmed his rehearsals, and then edited the vignettes so that he did look perfect), and a few stories about Curt. There are also very good matches on the DVD, but not many. Most of the time is taken up by a 60 minute match between Hennig and Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Title. However, it is a very good match. There are also the aforementioned matches with Michaels, Gilbert, and Hogan as well as a rare match with Terry Taylor, the match in which Hennig and Scott Hall become AWA Tag Team Champions by beating Steve Regal (not the British one) and Jimmy Garvin, an Intercontinental Title match against Kerry Von Erich with Roddy Piper as referee, and three matches with Bret Hart: one from 1989, the SummerSlam 1991 Intercontinental Title Match, and one from Uncensored 1998. Honestly though, they could have taken off one of those Hart matches and put on a different from, preferably one from his WCW run; he had some great matches during that time. And, there are five Easter Eggs on the DVD. On Disc 1, hit right two times on the "Rap is Crap" music video under Special Features to see the live performance of Rap is Crap on Thunder; hit right two times on "Curt Loved Karaoke" under Special Features to hear Chris Jericho tell a story about how Curt lit a stink bomb when he and some nWo guys were under the ring; hit left two times on "Mr. Perfect" under Chapters to see a AWA Promo; and hit right two times on "The Prankster" under Chapters to hear Wade Boggs tell a Hennig rib story. On Disc 2, hit left two times on "Mr. Perfect vs Hulk Hogan" under scene selection to see Mr. Perfect destroying the WWF Heavyweight Title. All in all, it’s a good DVD, but it could be better. It isn’t perfect. But, Curt Hennig sure as hell was. Highlight: it’s a tie between the vignettes with the Genius on them (Lanny Poffo is so hilarious on them, especially with the way he looks at Hennig like he’s in love with Perfect) and Hennig’s selling of Hulk Hogan’s atomic drop (the man flew like Superman). Recommended, but remember it isn’t the best DVD WWE has made. Also, thanks to Triple Kelly, heyguesswhatidid, and darthpipes. I used there posts in the Mr. Perfect DVD thread to help put this review together. They’re on page 2 in case you want to see them: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=WWE&action=display&thread=129366&page=1
|
|
|
Post by Caglar13 on Sept 14, 2008 0:00:18 GMT -5
very nice thorough reviews, keep em coming.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Nov 4, 2008 23:38:33 GMT -5
It’s time for a DVD review: The Incredible Hulk 3-Disc DVD My favorite superhero is the Hulk. That shouldn’t be a shocker, considering that “Hulk” is in my screen name. I’ve just always liked the Hulk. He’s the most sympathetic superhero I’ve seen (except for Rogue). And, it would be a lot of fun to be able to destroy as much property that the Hulk does. Anyway, I’ve read the comics and watched the TV show, animated series, and the movies. There have been two. You may remember the first Hulk movie from back in 2003: It was made by Ang Lee, starred Eric Bana (Bruce Banner/Hulk), Jennifer Connelly (Betty Ross), Sam Elliot (Gen. Ross), Josh Lucas (Glenn Talbot), and Nick Nolte (David Banner/The Absorbing Man). Not a lot of people liked it (even though it made $245.36 million). So, Universal Studios and Marvel decided it would be better to ignore that movie ever existed and reboot the franchise. Louise Leterrier was made director, and it starred Edward Norton (Banner/Hulk), Liv Tyler (Betty Ross), William Hurt (Gen. Ross), Tim Roth (Emil Blonsky/The Abomination), and Tim Blake Nelson (Dr. Samuel Sterns (AKA The Leader, but he didn’t really become The Leader until the end). Here’s the plot. There are spoilers, so if you don’t want the movie spoiled: A montage during the opening credit sequence details the film's backstory and the origin of the Hulk. General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (Hurt) meets with Dr. Bruce Banner (Norton), the colleague and lover of his daughter Betty (Tyler). He wants him to revive a World War II-era military bio-force project, but tells Banner the goal of the experiment is to make human beings immune to gamma radiation. The experiment fails, transforming Banner into the monstrous Hulk (voiced by Lou Ferrigno), and injuring Betty. Now a fugitive from the United States Army, Banner has been on the run for five years. As the film opens, Banner works at a soda bottling factory in Brazil while searching for a cure for his condition (through analyzing the properties of certain rare, Amazonian plants and herbs) with the help of a colleague on the Internet, known only as "Mr. Blue". He is also learning meditative breathing techniques from a martial arts expert (Rickson Gracie) to help regulate his pulse rate and keep his anger under control, and has not transformed in 158 days. After Banner cuts his finger, a drop of his blood ends up in one of the bottles, and is eventually ingested by an ill-fated consumer (Stan Lee) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This accident points Ross to Banner's location and he sends a team, led by Russian-born British special ops expert Emil Blonsky (Roth), to capture him. Banner escapes Blonsky by transforming into the Hulk and fighting off his team inside the bottle factory. After Ross explains how Banner first became the Hulk, a vengeful Blonsky agrees to be injected with the super soldier serum, which gives him increased strength, speed, agility, reflexes, endurance and healing. Meanwhile, Banner returns to Culver University (where the Hulk was born) in the United States and reunites with Betty, who is dating psychiatrist Leonard Samson (Ty Burrell). On the day he decides to leave, Ross and Blonsky's forces attack Banner at Culver University to draw out the Hulk, having been tipped off by the suspicious Samson. The Hulk wins the battle and flees with Betty. After he calms down, Banner and Betty go on the run. After several stops, Banner again makes contact with "Mr. Blue", who urges them to travel to New York City to meet him. He turns out to be cellular biologist Dr. Samuel Sterns (Nelson), a college professor. They learn that Sterns has developed a possible antidote that may cure Banner's condition, or merely reverse each individual transformation. After a successful test, Sterns reveals that he has synthesized Banner's blood sample (which he sent from Brazil) into a large supply with the intention of using it to enhance the human condition to the next evolutionary level. Appalled by what Sterns had done and fearful of the Hulk's power falling into the wrong hands, Banner attempts to convince Sterns to destroy the blood supply, but he is attacked by Ross' forces and he and Betty are taken into custody. As Sterns goes with an interrogation with a female soldier about his work, Blonsky strikes her down and demands Sterns to inject him with Banner's blood sample. Sterns warns that the combination of the supersoldier formula (which Blonsky has overdosed on, mutating his skeleton) and a gamma treatment would be an unpredictable combination that could turn him into an "abomination". Unconcerned, Blonsky forces Sterns to administer the gamma charge, and he mutates into a powerful monster. He knocks Sterns aside and escapes, rampaging through Harlem to draw the Hulk out. At the lab, an irradiated sample of Banner's blood-derivative drips into an open wound on Sterns' temple, causing his cranium to mutate and expand. Banner, realizing that he is the only one who can stop the monster, convinces General Ross to release him. He falls from Ross' helicopter as it hovers over the city, hoping the fall will trigger a transformation. Banner's plan succeeds, and after a brutal battle, the Hulk defeats Blonsky by nearly strangling him to death with a huge chain, relenting his grip only after Betty's plea. The Hulk then flees. Thirty-one days later, Banner is in Bella Coola, British Columbia. Instead of trying to suppress his transformations, he is attempting to initiate them in a controlled manner. As his eyes turn green, a grin appears on his face. Meanwhile, General Ross is drinking in a bar when he is approached by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who reveals that a "team" is being put together. END OF SPOILERS!!!! CONTINUE READING!!!! The movie was pretty good. I enjoyed it. Though, I slightly liked the 2003 Hulk movie better. That isn’t to say that this Hulk movie wasn’t an improvement over the first one. There were a lot of things about this movie that I liked over the other one: It was shorter. The 24-style multiple shots on screen weren’t there; I liked those, but they got very distracting after a while. It had a much more satisfying climactic battle; the Abomination just makes more sense to be the villain for a Hulk movie. Plus, I could see this fight, unlike the Hulk and Absorbing Man’s battle in the dark in the 2003 movie; you couldn’t have had that fight at daytime Ang Lee, or at the very least, have a full moon present. Norton gives a much better performance than Bana. And, the references to the TV show and comic book were nice. But, there were some things I liked from the 2003 movie over this one: I like William Hurt; he’s a fantastic actor. However, he just wasn’t the right fit for Gen. Ross. Sam Elliot was a much better casting choice. Plus, I didn’t really like how Gen. Ross’s character was portrayed in this movie. He came off as too much of a villain, as a man driven to possess the power of the Hulk. In the comics, he’s much more likeable as a man who is an antagonist to the Hulk but just wants to put him down so that the Hulk doesn’t hurt a lot people. That makes him very sympathetic and likeable, but I never saw that in this movie, which is a shame, because Hurt could have really played that up well, having a little bit more range than Elliot. His performance felt like he was trying to force anger out of himself that wasn’t there. And, I didn’t like how the Hulk looked in this film. I know a lot of people said that the Hulk in the 2003 movie looked like Shrek, but in this one, he didn’t look any better. I would say that he looked like Shrek on steroids. As for the movie as a whole, it was good, but it was playing to action fans who just want fights and explosions and don’t care about plot and dialogue. The Hulk has all sorts of interesting aspects to his personality. You have two beings fighting for control: an intelligent man and a destructive brute. There is a war raging inside of Bruce Banner, and he is trying desperately to win it. But, the Hulk, while dumber than Banner, usually ends up prevailing over the smarter man. A lot of people just see the Hulk as “HULK SMASH,” but there are a lot more complex issues to the character. The 2003 movie really played these issues up, but the 2008 movie pretty much ignore. I’m not surprised: the 2003 movie was directed by Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee, who has made such films as “Sense And Sensibility” and “Brokeback Mountain.” The 2008 movie was made by Louis Leterrier, who has made the Transporter movies. Those are basically the problems with both movies: the 2003 movie emphasized substance over style; the 2008 movie emphasized style over substance. I feel that the best Hulk movie is the one that can blend style and substance together. The special features include an alternate opening, that has a glimpse of Captain America (blink and you’ll miss it), deleted scenes, The Making of The Incredible Hulk, an in-depth look at the making of the blockbuster film, featuring interviews with Edward Norton, director Louis Leterrier, and producers Avi Arad, Kevin Feige and Gale Anne Hurd and the entire cast and crew that covers the film’s innovative take on the character, look and storyline, as well as the casting process, production and profile of director Louis Leterrier; Becoming The Hulk, this featurette focuses on Edward Norton’s approach to the iconic role and the incredible visual effects employed by award-winning studio Rhythm & Hues to create the character on screen; Becoming The Abomination, from the first motion-capture session to the visual effects at Rhythm & Hues, viewers go behind the scenes with actor Tim Roth and watch as he transforms both his mind and body into the super villain known as The Abomination; Anatomy of a Hulk Out, behind-the-scenes looks at three of the movie’s most exciting action sequences: Hulking Out in the Bottling Plant, go inside the first action sequence of the film where both viewers and the army are given a glimpse of the Hulk to come; Hulking Out on Campus, a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of a Hulk action sequence, featuring airplanes, guns, and even a sound machine; Hulking Out in Harlem, from pre-visualization animatics to visual effects, this featurette shows how filmmakers created one of the largest action sequences in Marvel film history; and From Comic Book to Screen, see the incredible comic books come to life courtesy of narration, sound effects and “living” panels of action. Also, the third disc of the DVD is a digital version of the film. All in all, these featurettes don’t add much to the film. I mean, you have your standard making of featurettes and deleted scenes that were deleted for a reason (that means they weren’t good). The only special feature worth anything is the alternate opening. It’s the one scene that really shows the inner turmoil going on inside of Bruce Banner’s mind. I don’t know why it was cut! Hell, if it had been the actual opening, there wouldn’t be any reason for you to get the regular DVD without any special features, unless you HAVE to know how they made the Hulk on computers. Highlight: HULK SMASH!!!! Yeah, I know I said the Hulk is more than “HULK SMASH,” but Goddammit! When the Hulk said that and opened a can of whoop ass on the Abomination, it was very snorking SWEET! Recommended for the single disc edition; mildly recommended for the 3 disc edition.
|
|
domrep
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 7,461
|
Post by domrep on Nov 4, 2008 23:44:41 GMT -5
^ This I can agree with. The 3-disc set is the biggest ripoff. One disc alone is just the digital copy which chances are, you won't use.
Disc two are the features and the only one that really is interesting is the alternate opening where you see another Marvel character who has a red white and blue shield. That's all I'm gonna say.
And disc one has the movies and some delete scenes.
Basically, don't waste $30 on the 3-disc edition b/c you're gonna be pissed. Buying the single disc is the way to go.
Of course I have the opposite opinion when it comes to the 2-disc for Iron Man and the 3-disc for Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Get Smart - the 2-disc DVD special edition is also a waist.
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Nov 11, 2008 23:04:04 GMT -5
What’s this? Another DVD Review? Futurama: Bender's Game Yeah, this is another review of a straight-to-DVD Futurama movie. Yeah, I’m gonna review them all! Big whoop! Wanna fight about it? No, well then, I’ll continue: THIS IS ANOTHER LONG DETAIL SYNOPSIS OF THE PLOT OF THE MOVIE!!!! IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE AND DON’T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED FOR YOU, THEN: Due to an apparent shortage of dark matter, which is used to power starships, fuel prices have begun to rise, prompting Professor Farnsworth to prohibit flying the ship unless absolutely necessary. However, Leela has begun to develop anger issues, leading her to enter the ship in a demolition derby. As punishment for wasting precious fuel, as well as a means to control her temper, Leela is forced to wear a shock collar that activates whenever she has a violent thought. Meanwhile, Bender feels left out when he sees Cubert and Dwight playing Dungeons & Dragons and can't play because robots are not installed with imaginations. Trying as hard as he can, Bender manages to imagine himself as a medieval knight named "Titanius Anglesmith" and joins the game. However, since he was never meant to have an imagination, Bender believes himself to be a real knight in the magical world of "Cornwood" and, after being subdued during a rampage through the city, is sent to the HAL Institute, a robot insane asylum. Farnsworth learns that Mom, who controls the dark matter industry, has amassed a record-breaking fortune despite investing heavily on her dark matter mine in Alaska. As it turns out, the "shortage" is a ploy Mom is using for profit. Farnsworth reveals that when he was still working for Mom many years ago, dark matter was a completely useless substance. While experimenting with it, he inadvertently produced two crystals: an energy crystal that turned dark matter into fuel, which Mom took for herself, and an opposite "anti-backwards matter" crystal, which Farnsworth kept hidden. Farnsworth says that should the two crystals ever meet, they would render dark matter useless once more. The anti-crystal, now believed to be missing, is currently being used as a 12-sided die in the kids' game. Learning this, Mom sends her sons Walt, Larry, and Igner to retrieve it, but Farnsworth manages to find it first, and he, Fry, and Leela take it to Mom's dark matter mine to put an end to her plans. Infiltrating the mine, the crew learns that it is actually a farm where Nibbler and countless other Nibblonians are forced to excrete unlimited amounts of dark matter. The three are spotted by Igner who, having overheard a startling secret Mom revealed about him to Walt and Larry, helps them escape his brothers. They confront Mom with the energy crystal and try to bring the two crystals together, but Farnsworth is forced to swallow it to keep it safe from Mom, who threatens to remove it with laxatives. While this happens, the crystals cause all dark matter in existence to resonate oddly, including the matter Bender had stored within himself, having collected it as "treasure" earlier during his insane crusade. While his imagination is being removed, it reacts to the dark matter resonance and creates the realm Cornwood an alternate universe, sending him, the whole Planet Express crew, Mom and her sons into it. Only Fry and Leela are shown emerging in Cornwood with the anti-crystal; not only that, but Leela has transformed into a centaur, and no one else there seems to have any memories of the real world. They are met by an armored Bender in his "Titanius" persona, who names his friends "Frydo" and "Leegola," respectively. The three are pursued by Mom's sons, now named Waltazar (Walt), Larius (Larry), and Ignus (Igner); in the ensuing confrontation, Frydo accidentally drops the anti-crystal which rolls like a die and lands on a 7, banishing their pursuers to a swamp. They meet up with the Great Wizard Greyfarn (Farnsworth) and learn that the anti-crystal, or the "Die of Power," was created by the evil sorceress Momon (Mom), who hopes to re-obtain its immense power. To stop her, the heroes must travel to Momon's lair in the Geysers of Gygax and cast it into the molten plastic from where it was molded, which is the only way to destroy it. At the start of their quest, the group is stopped by an intersexual centaur named Hermaphrodite (Hermes) who promotes his/her people's nonviolent lifestyle, despite being master archers. He/she refuses to let the group pass through their land, but is such a wimp that the group is able to pass anyway. The heroes decide to traverse the Cave of Hopelessness, home of the dreaded Tunneling Horror. Aiding them is Gynecaladriel (Amy), Queen of the "Water Nymphos" with the ability to seduce anyone. The group is stopped by Zoidberg, now a giant lobster-like creature. Leegola assumes Zoidberg to be the Tunneling Horror and brutally slays him in cold blood, only to learn he is not the same monster. Wracked with guilt over killing an innocent creature, Leegola abandons her friends just as the real Tunneling Horror, a giant worm, emerges, but not before accidentally decapitating Zoidberg by casting her sword aside. Frydo rolls the Die of Power which lands on a 3, which turns Frydo into a giant and allows him to defeat the Tunneling Horror. Frydo begins to grow obsessed over the Die and becomes a mad, impish creature. After a botched attempt to murder his friends, Frydo flees. As Leegola learns the ways of peace from the centaurs, the others travel to Wipe Castle to amass an army against Momon, only to learn Roberto, as its insane king, had sent it on a pointless suicide mission, leaving the heroes to defend Wipe Castle alone as Waltazar and Larius besiege it. Learning that her friends are in trouble, Leegola regains her will to fight and rallies the centaurs into an army, swiftly lifting the siege. Frydo, meanwhile, is met by Zoidberg's still-living head, having sprouted tentacles and survived on its own after being cut off, who offers to help Frydo destroy the Die of Power. Reaching the Geysers of Gygax, Frydo finds he is too attached to the Die to destroy it, so Zoidberg bites him to help him let it go. As Frydo drops the Die, Momon turns into a dragon to stop him. The Die rolls on a 12 which turns Frydo into a dragon as well, and he battles Momon as his friends arrive. Ignus, in his attempt to help the heroes flee from danger, reveals that, having overheard from Momon, he is Greyfarn's son, meaning Igner is Farnsworth's son in the real world. Emotionally overwhelmed, Greyfarn falls from the heroes' perch and lands on Zoidberg who, in his temptation, had stolen the Die of Power, allowing Momon to obtain it and causing Cornwood to collapse on itself. Everyone is suddenly sent back to the real world, regaining their original forms and memories. With the anti-crystal back in his stomach and Mom threatening to remove it again, Farnsworth asks to hug his son Igner, instinctively determining Igner had swallowed Mom's energy crystal in defiance. Their embrace brings the crystals in their stomachs close enough to render dark matter useless and effectively ruining Mom's dark matter empire. As a temporary substitute for fuel, the Planet Express crew uses the captive Nibblonians like sled dogs to pull their ship home. END OF SPOILERS!!!! I liked this movie a lot. It is the best Futurama movie yet; I’ll reserve that judgment for when the fourth one comes out. Sure it doesn’t have a lot of the cool secondary characters (no Zapp Brannigan, Kiff, Hedonismbot, President Nixon’s head, the Robot Devil, etc.), but it does feature some characters that weren’t in the first two movies, like Mom, her sons, Roberto, the robots from the episode “Insane In The Mainframe” (the episode in which Fry and Bender are sent to the HAL Institute for Criminal Insane Robots), Cubert, etc. This movie is very different from the first two. It’s not as confusing as “Bender’s Big Score” with its confusing time paradox filled plot. And, it’s much more exciting than “The Beast With A Billion Backs.” I should point out that I enjoyed the second movie much more than the first, but I do that there were quite a few Futurama fans who felt the opposite. Well, have no fear, this movie is better than the third one. It is pretty much a straight forward adventure with some good references and parodies of Dungeons And Dragons and The Lord Of The Rings. Basically, if you’re a huge nerd, then you’ll love this movie. Another thing I like about this movie was that it didn’t really focus one or two characters. This was more of an ensemble movie. There was only one real subplot: Leela trying to control her anger issues; and that ended up tying back to the overall plot. However, it was more tied in with the plot than Hermes getting decapitated in “Bender’s Big Score” and Amy and Kiff getting married and breaking up in “The Beast With A Billion Backs.” Those were loosely tied to the plot, whereas this subplot end up having a big effect on the end of the movie. Though, I did have one problem with the movie: I felt it took too long to get the magical D&D-like world. That part should have taken up most of the movie as it was more interesting and had funny and sexier moments. Other than that, I enjoyed this movie very much. The special features include audio commentary by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Michael Rowe, Claudia Katz, and Dwayne Carey-Hill; storyboard animatic, which is basically the rough storyboard animation of the first 20 minutes of the film; Futurama Genetics Lab, in which to take two characters from a selection (Fry, Leela, Bender, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Morbo, and the Hypnotoad), select them, merge them together, and get a photo of what it would look like they had a kid; D&D&F (Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama, which is a featurette in which David X. Cohen, Eric Kaplan, and Mike Rowe (three of the writers of the film) talk about and show scenes of D&D references throughout the show and then play D&D ; How To Draw Futurama In 83 Easy Steps, in which the animators show you how to draw the Futurama characters; 3-D models of the ships in the demolition derby scene with animator discussion; a deleted scene, in which the Cubert and Dwight (Hermes’s son) go get some “ice cream” that taste like “strawberry”…yes, it’s “strawberry” alright; Blooperama 2, which is outtakes from the voice recording for the film (sadly, this one isn’t as long as the one from “The Beast With A Billion Backs”; I guess they didn’t make as many mistakes in this movie); an anti-piracy warning from Bender; and a sneak preview of the fourth Futurama film “Into The Green Wild Yonder” ( {Spoiler}I couldn’t really tell what’s going to happen in this movie, but I think that there is some kind of apocalypse going on; what I do know is that it has Zapp Brannigan and the Robot Mafia. ) The special features are much better than the ones from “The Beast With A Billion Backs,” but they’re not as good as the ones from “Bender’s Big Score.” All in all, this is very good DVD. However, it needed to focus more on one specific character: the Hypnotoad! ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD!!!! Highlight: Leegola and Gynecaladriel’s kiss. I found it strangely erotic. I said EROTIC!!!! Recommended, especially for Futurama and Dungeon and Dragons’ fans.
|
|