FRED Entertainment

February 25, 2009

Win THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY on DVD!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 3:09 am

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In conjunction with Fox Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY on DVD.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

Win SEX DRIVE on DVD!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 2:59 am

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In conjunction with Summit Home Entertainment, we’re giving away one (1) copy of SEX DRIVE on DVD signed by star SETH GREEN, and two (2) unsigned copies to runner-ups.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

Win a WONDER WOMAN Tiara!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 2:51 am

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In conjunction with Warner bros. Home Video, we’re giving away two (2) WONDER WOMAN Tiaras in support of the new direct-to-DVD animated movie WONDER WOMAN.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

The tiara looks like the one below, and features a light-up star. The WONDER WOMAN animated movie is in stores on March 3, 2009, and you can visit the official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

Win SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: SPONGICUS and THE BIG ONE on DVD!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 2:09 am

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In conjunction with Nickelodeon Home Video, we’re giving away three (3) sets of both SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: SPONGICUS and SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: THE BIG ONE on DVD.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

Win FUTURAMA: INTO THE WILD GREEN YONDER on DVD!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 2:00 am

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In conjunction with Fox Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of FUTURAMA: INTO THE WILD GREEN YONDER on DVD.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

Win STREET GANG: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF SESAME STREET!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 1:51 am

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In conjunction with Viking Press, we’re giving away five (5) copies of STREET GANG: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF SESAME STREET.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 18th.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

February 24, 2009

Toy Box: F.M.O.M. Wave Disruptor Gun

Filed under: Toy Box — admin @ 4:19 am

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When it comes to unique and unusual collectibles, you can’t beat the uber-cool rayguns from Weta. You know Weta, the guys that did the props and designs for the Lord of the Rings films, as well as King Kong. George Lucas has Lucasfilms, Peter Jackson has Weta.

One of their very cool lines is the Dr. Grordbort’s Rayguns. Based on the general concept of the old time science fiction guns of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, these are all original designs that use proper materials to make as realistic of a gun as possible, short of being able to disintegrate your enemies. All that realism costs though, and the usual full size raygun will run you any where from $700 for the Manmelter pistol, to $4500 for the Blunderbuss.

For those of us barely avoiding being committed by our families, buying one of these would be one step too far. But Weta has come up with an alternateive, ‘mini-rayguns’ that are identical in design to the big boys, but only 1/4 the size (and not nearly as complex). There have been two released at past SDCC events: the mini Manmelter from 2007, and the Goliathan at SDCC 2008. The Manmelter is long sold out, but you can still pick up the Goliathan from their site, as well as the newest in the series, the F.M.O.M. Wave Disrupter Gun.

If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com, or check out my site at Michael’s Review of the Week. You can also follow me on Twitter, where I’ll post info on new stuff, as well as links to new reviews.

F.M.O.M. Wave Disrupter Gun

If you’re a fan of the quarter scale Star Wars weapons that Gentle Giant produced, then these little buggers will be right up your alley. Weta doesn’t make a ton of these, and this version is limited to just 900.

Packaging – ***1/2
These come in excellent boxes, with great graphics done in a cool retro style. The gun itself is wrapped and packed tight to help avoid damage, but you’ll want to unpack it VERY carefully. You could end up damaging it just by removing the several twisty ties.

Sculpting – ****
These sculpts are all quite intricate, with fine wires, tubes, and doohickeys everywhere. Many of these small pieces are quite fragile, made from soft metal. The entire gun is made from metal, actually, with quite a bit of heft and weight to it. The scale works well with varioius quarter scale figures too, although it’s heavy enough to make it tough for them to hold it upright. The gun is about 3″ long, small enough to fit entirely in the palm of your hand.

Paint – ***1/2
I’m not sure if ‘paint’ is the right word, since the gun has a unique finish that makes it appear old and worn. There’s even some fake rust in a few spots, as though it’s owner hasn’t been keeping it clean between uses.

There are additional paint details too, on various wires and tubes. There’s even a small white dial, although on very close inspection you can see that the detail is a bit weak. Still, to the nekkid eye, it looks pretty damn good.

Design/Quality – ****
All metal? How can you go wrong! As I said, the gun designs themselves are all extremely unique, and yet they capture that 30’s sci-fi serials feel perfectly. I think I might like the Goliathan just a little better than the F.M.O.M., but that’s more a matter of artistic taste than basic quality or design.

There’s also a metal stand included which holds the gun up in a perfect position for display on your shelf. The style and color of the stand matches with the gun, and it includes the name of the weapon on the base.

Value – **
Yes, these are really cool, no doubt about it. But they aren’t cheap, even the little guys. Sixty bucks might not seem like a lot, but let’s keep in mind that these are only 3″ long – not exactly a huge hunk of metal. The first mini-raygun was $30, which was a much more appropriate price. I can even see $40, but $60? That’s a slight stretch.

Things to Watch Out For –
As I mentioned earlier, the gun has lots of soft metal tiny pieces that can easily be bent or broken off. Be especially careful when taking the gun out of the box for the first time. All the packing material keeps it safe in shipping, but if you’re too impatient it can also cause its own brand of damage.

Overall – ***1/2
Hey, I’ll admit it – I love these little guys. I’d love to have one of the full scale versions, but I already sold a kidney to afford my Hot Toys habit. I’m smart enough to know that a herion addict shouldn’t take up crack as a second hobby, so I’ll be sticking with the little versions.

Where to Buy –
Your best bet is the Weta site, where it can be had for about $60 US.

Related Links:
I looked at the Goliathan last year.

February 23, 2009

TV Or Not TV: 2/22 – 3/1

Filed under: TV Or Not TV — Tags: — admin @ 1:36 am

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Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I am now very pleased with Dollhouse.

Even though I have close ties to the show I have to admit that I wasn’t thrilled with the premiere when it aired on 2/13.  The show was good, it told a story, but there was something that was missing from the mix. It is one of those things that is most annoying because it is very hard to put a finger on what was missing, aside from the trade mark blend of drama and humor that is usually injected into a Joss Whedon project. There was also something in the storytelling that just felt forced. Even after re-watching I still couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was that was bothering me.

After seeing this past week’s episode of Dollhouse I can definitely say that whatever it was that I felt was missing is new present. From what I have read and from what I have heard this past episode, titled The Target, was the original pilot of the show (with some changes I’m sure to accommodate last week’s episode Ghost) and it certainly served the purpose of explaining what the show is and what it is about.  It fleshed out for us why Boyd Langton was brought to be the handler for Echo, it made the tech Topher Brink far less annoying, and FBI Agent Paul Ballard came across as a much stronger character than what we saw in Ghost.

Another thing we were given was a real bad guy to watch out for in the form of Active gone bad Alpha, who sees something more to Echo than what we see on the surface. Alpha also appears to be a bad guy who is also on a mission since he appears to be manipulating things to enhance the FBI discovery of the Dollhouse as well as setting up the chain of events that made up the entire episode of The Target.

The pilot for the show was just an appetizer. This past episode for a full meal. It set things up AND sets them in motion. This episode I walked away from very satisfied.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that if you gave Dollhouse a chance and didn’t come back for more, you might want to reconsider.

Now that we’ve gotten that bit out of the way let’s see what the week holds for us.

MONDAY

AMC – 8:00 PM: It’s Dirty Harry week on AMC and tonight they are running the one that started it all with Harry Callahan going up against the Zodiac inspired Scorpio killer.

NBC – 9:00 PM: Parkman uses his mind powers to make HRG spill the beans on why he is helping with the capture of those with abilities. I’m hoping they treat this like Parkman walking through revealing events in Noah’s mind but I’m sure they’ll just give us more of the flashback style crud.

TUESDAY

ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX – 9:00 PM E / 6:00 PM P: Join me as the nation holds its breath while waiting to hear what our President has to say in his first official State of the Union address.

TNT – 10:00 AM: If you haven’t caught the TNT show Leverage than you can watch an all-day marathon leading up to the 10 PM finale.

AMC – 8:00 PM: Tonight Harry Callahan is going up against vigilante cops in Magnum Force.

WEDNESDAY

ABC – 9:00 PM: Ever since I learned the names of the episodes this season for LOST the one I’ve really been looking forward to is The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham. Tonight we find out what Locke did before taking his lined pine box nap.

AMC – 8:00 PM: Still haven’t gotten your Dirty Harry fill? The Enforcer had rocket-armed radicals and hostages on Alcatraz long before The Rock existed.

THURSDAY

SCIFI – 7:00 PM: I have no idea why SciFi is running four hours of Battlestar Galactica from last year, but four hours BSG is still four hours of BSG.

NBC – 8:00 PM: If you didn’t pick up the Kung Fu Panda DVD set than tonight is your chance to see Secrets of the Furious Five for the low low price of nothing (if you can handle commercial interruptions).

HIST – 10:00 PM: Get ready for the second season of Ax Men with the Road to Season 2. Nothing says, “I feel very unmanly” more than this show.

AMC – 8:00 PM: Faster than you can say, “Go ahead. Make my day.” it’s time for Sudden Impact.

FRIDAY

VHI1 – 6:00 PM: Black to the Future is a four part series that takes a look at contributions of the black community to pop culture from the 80’s through today.

BET – 8:00 PM: Although the social commentaries on race seemed shoe horned in to the movie I still found Inside Man to be very clever movie.

AMC – 8:00 PM: Dirty Harry is back for one last film as he protects a newswoman and others on a celebrity hit list in The Dead Pool.

SATURDAY

AMC – 8:00 PM: Blazing Saddles followed by Caddyshack? It’s like my childhood memories are responsible for programming AMC tonight.

SUNDAY

NBC – 7:00 PM: Andy Samburg hosts Saturday Night Live Short Films, a look back at a lot of the shorts, commercial parodies and other pre-taped bits from the shows run. Seriously, the guy who brought us Laser Cats is the best candidate to host this?

LIFE – 8:00 PM: Rosie O’Donnell plays a psychiatrist who helps a troubled boy in the foster care system in America.

NBC – 9:00 PM: Show producers once again stretch the term celebrity with another edition of The Celebrity Apprentice. I don’t know what is more shocking, Joan Rivers appearance or that they still call  Andrew Dice Clay a celebrity.

– Will Wilkins wrote this from the beauty of South Lake Tahoe.

SModcast 77

Filed under: SModcast — Tags: , , , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 1:07 am

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Your TextSModcast is the meandering palaver of a pair of dudes whose voices are so dull, they don’t deserve to be on the radio (and, hence, aren’t). Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier are SModcast.The best thing about SModcast? It don’t cost nothing.

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SModcast 77: Nipple Rot –

In which our heroes trudge through the DMZ, examine various creams and elixirs, and rocket into the future.

[CONTENT WARNING] SModcast features harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Listener discretion is advised.

DOWNLOAD: (right click to save)
SModcast 77 (MP3 format) – 53.36 MB

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SUBSCRIBE
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Wanna add your two cents? Spend it here, in the SModcast mailbag.

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February 20, 2009

Backlash: Best Picture? Hardly.

Filed under: Backlash — Tags: , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 2:44 am

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The Oscars are coming, whether we like it (or care) or not. The disappointment felt by fans and the event’s organizers over the snub of The Dark Knight has finally died down and the campaigning has hit the home stretch, even if the economy has subdued the usual onslaught of in-your-face begging this time around (thank God).

I never subscribed to the notion that The Dark Knight had to get the big nominations to vindicate it as a good film or to somehow make the Oscars relevant to current audiences. But the films that were nominated were one of the weakest sets of nominees in recent history. Be that as it may, I do think I have figured out the logic – instead of giving us a film to root for in The Dark Knight, the Academy has given us something better; a film to root against.

I am speaking, of course, of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, one of the most excruciating 3 hours you’ll ever spend in a theater and I’m counting watching uncensored footage of Nazi war atrocities. Based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the movie follows in the tradition of films like The Bridges of Madison County in that you could probably read the original story enough times to memorize it in the time it takes to get to the final reel. The Academy saw fit to give this cinematic forced march 13 nominations, the most of any film in the mix this year. The only choice that could have possibly been a bigger slap in the face to any other potential nominee would have been to nominate the mini-series masquerading as theatrical film, Australia. Thankfully, there’s a cash crisis at the moment which means there isn’t enough money in Hollywood to buy that thing an Oscar, even if they did manage to slap in one of the film’s stars as host this year.

Back to the crapfest at hand. I’m on record as saying that I think Brad Pitt is a good actor and he’s definitely worthy of an Oscar. Having said that, I have an aversion bordering upon hive inducing allergy towards obvious Oscar-bait and Benjamin Button is one of those films that is the awards equivalent to dynamite fishing. There’s not a person involved with the project that didn’t sign on because they thought it would be a ‘marquee’ film. It’s not that I object to artistic films, it’s that I object to films that could have been artistic and even good, only to see them become bloated, overbearing, ponderous wastes of celluloid and worse, the viewer’s time. Pitt’s been on this track for a while now – just take a look at the equally long, ponderous but definitely more entertaining Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Lesson learned in that film: don’t let an up and coming actor steal the spotlight in your Oscar-bait. Not a problem with Benjamin Button.

The first time I sat through the film, it was like being slowly beaten to death by a mob of dwarves wielding NERF bats. After seeing that it was getting some buzz, I tried getting through it again, in case I somehow “just didn’t get it”.

This time, it was like the dwarves had ditched the foam weapons and had instead resorted to punching me in the groin.

Wearing gauntlets.

With spikes.

By the midway point, I was about ready to gouge my own eyes out using the scoop from the over priced nachos. I am now fairly convinced that I didn’t “miss” anything and that the film just sucks.

Of course, the one flaw in the logic of having something to root against is that there has to be something you’d rather see win. While I’d like to see just about any film win that isn’t Benjamin Button, I can’t say that any of the other nominees really scream that they deserve the award, either. Frost / Nixon is good if only to prove once again that the best actors to portray Richard Nixon on film originate from outside the United States. Sorry, Rich Little – looks like other people are finally pushing their way into material that has been exclusively yours since sometime during the Carter administration. Milk, with Sean Penn’s critically acclaimed (for good reason) performance as San Francisco’s slain gay rights pioneer, Harvey Milk, is good but not Best Picture good.

The Reader, you ask? Oh, for fuck’s sake, let’s get over this wave of trying to find some kind of sympathy for those poor, misunderstood Nazis, already. They were fucking Nazis! There’s a reason the word “Nazi” has become shorthand for “evil, villainous prick”. I don’t care if we do get to see Kate Winslett’s boobies (like we haven’t seen those before), I’ve now had enough of this little genre that has helped bring us overblown bullshit like Valkyrie and manipulative crap like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Yeah, I know, the world isn’t all black and white. I don’t believe anybody ever got up every day and told themselves “damn, I’m evil” in the mirror (except, possibly, Dick Cheney). But let’s put things in perspective before we find ourselves in the middle of a screening for a warm, fuzzy retelling of the life of Hitler. The reason Nazis make great recurring villains in popular entertainment is because they were some of the most horrible, scum-sucking human beings to ever cast a shadow on the face of the Earth. They earned that horrible distinction and it’s gonna stick to ’em like stink on shit for eternity. So, no, I won’t be casting a vote for The Reader. Sorry, Kate, maybe next year.

Which pretty much leaves us with Slumdog Millionaire. Is it Best Picture good, either? Uhm, well, no. Is it a better film than Frost / Nixon or Milk? I can’t really say that, either. What I can say is that it isn’t like watching a dramatized version of a History Channel documentary, which earns it a few extra points in my book. It holds together well, travels at a better pace than the other two films and is just a little more watchable. Plus, it has a cool, Bollywood-esque number at the end that would have only helped any of the other films nominated this year. But this is a long way from being a film that people behind the big broadcast would have liked to promote as a ‘popular favorite’.

Of course, this will be a different kind of Oscar ceremony by the Academy’s own admission. A more “intimate” (read: cheaply produced) ceremony with supposed new twists. Okay, this isn’t an episode of Law & Order, it’s an awards ceremony, people. About the only major change you could make that would make anybody give a damn would be a new rule that states winners must be present to win. To make things even more interesting would be the way the award would then be given to a nominee who is present: an all out fight to the death with the last one standing coming away with the Oscar. Just think of how much the audience would hope the winner for Best Supporting Actress couldn’t make the ceremony so Hugh Jackman could ask the stage hands to drop the cage and roll out the pudding vat. Not only that but it stands to open up the categories for other artists in the future. Anything short of that is just a cheat to the viewers.

The Academy Awards will be presented live on Sunday, February 22nd. Place your bets now.

Weekend Shopping Guide 2/20/09: Chefsapoppin’

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The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

It’s a shame that Gordon Ramsay is mostly known for the over-produced Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares when his UK output is so wonderfully engaging. Case in point – and well worth checking out – is his celebration of food, The F Word (BFS, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which finds Ramsay tackling a different menu item each week in his F Word restaurant, which also includes a celebrity component and trips into the field. Also, as a way of showing the viewers and his kids where the food on the dinner table comes from and give them more of an appreciation, a different animal each season is raised by the Gordon clan, and then served at the end of the season. This season found them raising six turkeys. The 3-disc set features all 7 episodes, but sadly no bonus features.

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I should have spotlighted this last week with the re-released Back To The Future DVDs, but as there’s no time machine currently available, I’ll just have to let you know now about the pretty darn nifty Back To The Future license plate replica ($29.99 SRP). You probably don’t own a Delorean, but I’m sure it’ll look just fine on your beat up Toyota Camry. Just be sure you remember that it’s not legal to use it in place of your real plates.

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One of the few shows I actively miss is Showtime’s late, lamented piece of macabre humor, Dead Like Me, about a group of “Reapers” tasked with delivering the souls of the just-about-to-be-deceased to the afterlife right before their often grisly deaths. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, the best way to go is the brand new Dead Like Me: Complete Collection (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$69.98 SRP), which features not only the two seasons of the original run, but also the brand-new direct-to-video movie that picks up with the characters a few years down the line, and is good enough to leave me wanting more.

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Some have attacked it as “snarky” or “one-sided”, but I’m not entirely sure what film they were seeing, as I found Bill Maher’s Religulous (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$29.95 SRP) to be a pretty even-handed attempt to try and figure out what makes those of a religious bent believe the things they believe. All I can say is to give it a spin and come to your own conclusion. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a reel of Maher’s monologues from around the world.

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Sleuthing angel of death Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) returns to her suspicious ways in the complete ninth season of Murder She Wrote (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). The 5-disc set features all 22 episodes. Be sure to see if you can figure out all the ways she committed the crimes.

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Another week, another high definition catalogue upgrade – this time it’s the still great Boondock Saints (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP). The special edition features a air of audio commentaries (the Billy Connolly one alone is worth the price of admission), deleted scenes, and outtakes.

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The fifth season of Sabrina The Teenage Witch (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) finds our rapidly aging lead entering college and rooming with Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye). Oh, Punky. The 3-disc set features all 22 episodes.

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I know it’s been praised and it has quite a pedigree, but I found Changeling (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) – the true story of a mother (Angelina Jolie) whom police reunite with her kidnapped son, against her protestations that the boy is not her real child – to be a turgid, airless affair for so interesting a conceit. Maybe director Clint Eastwood’s minimalism found a flick that was calling out for a little more oomph. Bonus materials include an in-depth featurette on Eastwood and Jolie, and a look at the real Christine Collins.

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It’s not one of his better films, but there’s enough Friday-night popcorn thriller energy to Ridley Scott’s Body Of Lies (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$34.99 SRP) to make it worth a look-see. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a CIA agent on the hunt for a terrorist, whose search is orchestrated by an agent back at the home office (Russell Crowe). What unfolds is your basic “Who do you trust?” thriller. Bonus features include an audio commentary, additional scenes, and featurettes. A Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) is also available with identical bonus features, plus BD Live capabilities.

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Barbra Streisand’s directorial opus Yentl (MGM, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP) arrived back on DVD in a new 2-disc edition, featuring a brand new extended director’s cut, an introduction from Barbra, audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, Streisand’s 8mm concept film, galleries, and more.

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Equal parts Losin’ It and American Pie, Extreme Movie (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) is an attempt by a crapload of writers to make an over-the-top flick about a group of teenagers making that oh-so-important transition into manhood – mostly involving awkwardness and midgets. Bonus features include an audio commentary and a making-of featurette.

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They’re certainly not his finest or most memorable films, but Warners has decided to dip into the vaults for what its branding as the “Paul Newman Film Series”. The five films being released are The Helen Morgan Story, The Silver Chalice, When Time Ran Out, Rachel, Rachel, and The Outrage (Warner Bros., Not Rated/Rated PG/Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP each). Don’t expect gems, but they’re good to have out, nonetheless.

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The High School Musical hubbub leaves me cold, but I know there are easily dozens of teens that will eagerly snap up the big screen iteration of the quickly aging teens’ tuneful adventures, High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$34.99 SRP). The 3-disc set features an extended cut of the movie, deleted scenes, cast goodbyes, a sing along, bloopers, and more. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) is also available, which adds exclusive senior awards and cast profiles. If that weren’t enough, fans can also pick up the Blu-Ray edition of the original High School Musical: Remix Edition (Walt Disney, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP).

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I really wanted to like the adaptation of Toby Young’s How To Lose Friends & Alienate People (MGM, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP) – about a British journalist eager to rub elbows with celebrities yet loves to expose them – if only because the book was a good read and the film stars Simon Pegg and Jeff Bridges. But what I found was viewing experience best summed up by the word “flat”. Sad, really. Bonus features include audio commentaries and a making-of featurette.

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The Clampett’s adventures in the land cement ponds continues in the full, official, and sparkling release of the complete third season of The Beverly Hillbillies (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Ignore all of those awful collections of public domain episodes and support the continued release of these official versions. The 5-disc set features all 34 episodes, plus a featurette, original episode sponsor openings and closings, and a photo gallery.

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We’ve finally caught up with the current season with the release of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 8 (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The 5-disc set contains all 22 episodes, but there’s not a single bonus feature in sight.

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So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…

-Ken Plume

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Trailer Park: Julian Morris (DONKEY PUNCH) – Interview

Filed under: Interviews,Trailer Park — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 12:40 am

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I’m awesome. I wrote a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter. Find me here, my oh so original name on the thing is Stipp so come on and follow my stray ramblings. I’m really digging being able to follow such luminaries as Not Henry Rollins, Not Gene Simmons and others who aren’t the real celebutards they lead you to believe they are. It’s Web 2.0! Catch it!

Now, before we get into the interview with Julian Morris of DONKEY PUNCH I have some things to give away.

Specifically, I have 5 copies of the Buena Vista Home Entertainment release of BLINDNESS starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. I also have a metric ton of posters featuring the image to the very right so if you’re looking to spruce up a cheery room here is your opportunity. For those who are unfamiliar with the film’s premise it is as follows:

From acclaimed director Fernando Meirelles (“The Constant Gardener”) comes this extraordinarily intense and gritty thriller that will change your vision of the world forever. Led by a powerful all-star cast featuring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Danny Glover, this unflinching story begins when a plague of blindness strikes and threatens all of humanity. One woman (Moore) feigns the illness to share an uncertain fate in quarantine, where society is breaking down as fast as their crumbling surroundings. Based on Nobel Prize-winning Jose Saramago’s novel – let “Blindness” lead you on a journey where the only thing more terrifying than being blind is being the only one who can see.

If you’re interested in winning a copy, drop me a line at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com. I can’t think of anything difficult for you to win one so we’ll make this a first come, first served giveaway. And, because of some issues of shipping to locales out of North America, we’ll limit this contest to our neighbors to the north and anyone in the continental United States. It’s not that I don’t love you nutty Europeans but tracking this stuff to make sure it gets to you has been a pain. Blame the postal system.

Now, on with the interview…

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The thing about Julian is that he’s a great interview.

The man has a way with casual conversation that you wonder if he’s been doing this for a long time or if he’s just that sincere when he talks about what gets him excited with regard to his work. The first time I talked to him it was over some water at the Beverly Hills Hotel (a swank locale that is excruciatingly difficult to navigate into but reeks of people who have more money than I’ll ever see in this lifetime) and I was struck by his genial and affable nature. That’s why when it was he who I could talk to regarding his newest venture, DONKEY PUNCH, I not only said yes but I campaigned to speak to him; it’s just easier when you have a connection with someone, however tenable and dubious the tether, that this helps to kick start a conversation when you only have 15 minutes to talk.

You’ve got to be able and make the subject feel comfortable and when you’re doing it over the phone it’s almost like you’re rushing a relationship where no one has the time for witless banter. Julian, though, is a true gentleman in the sense he’s willing to share his thoughts but is willing to go that extra few inches and talk about what he’s really thinking. It may not mean much to you, those who are reading this, but for someone like me, who is stuck on the other end of the phone, it’s the difference between a long 15 minutes and a conversation you wish could go a little longer. To be sure, you’ll hopefully be reading another conversation between him and I in the near future.

Again, like last week, DONKEY PUNCH is in limited release and will be out on video in mere months.

JULIAN MORRIS: Chris?

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Sir…

MORRIS: Good to hear your voice again.

CS: You too. How have you been?

MORRIS: The last time was the Beverly Hills Hotel, right?

CS: That’s correct. How have things been?

MORRIS: Since I’ve seen you last, things have been incredible. Social’s been great. Life’s great. Did a movie with Tom Cruise. Did, this one, DONKEY PUNCH. Played a doctor on ER. What else? Got another movie coming out this year that you would be interested in, called SORORITY ROW.

CS: Well, I had no idea that you were in this film. Zero.

MORRIS: What? You saw it?

CS: I’m having a copy being sent to me. I think it’s at my house today.

MORRIS: Great.

CS: I’m hoping to be able to watch it tonight. I’ve just culled a bunch of information about it and now I’m really amped to see it at least after reading everything about it.

MORRIS: It’s pretty out there. I’m really proud of it. I think it’s really different from movies that are being made for our demographic. It’s a smart movie. Incredibly disturbing but people get a kick out of it.

CS: How did it come across your table? And I only ask because I know because Ollie [Blackburn] is a first time director. This film was only made for less than a million pounds if I am to believe the reports.

MORRIS: Well, I loved Oliver Blackburn’s reel. I loved the short films that he’s done. I loved the videos he’s done. And when we were meeting to discuss the film ““ his insights into the character and his vision really excited me. And also with the way he directs, you would never believe he is a first time director. He directs with the confidence and also the ease of someone who has been doing it for decades. So, how I came about it was being in America a lot I was shooting this film Privileged and my agent called me up from London and said there is a script that I think you will love and initially I was being looked at for another part but I really like the character I play and when you see it you will understand why. He’s interesting. At the beginning he’s quite shy, slightly awkward, young man but with this huge internal to be the alpha male or at least within the respect of the huge chasm between the man that he is and the man that he wants to be and that was really exciting to play out. He does the famous Donkey Punch. How could I say no to that?

(Laughs)

CS: Exactly. That’s all I’ve been hearing about this technique. How was it doing the thriller/horror genre? You’ve been through it now with your other film…

MORRIS: CRY WOLF…

CS: So do you have this down to a science about what it takes?

MORRIS: I guess I’ve been lucky in that all the characters I’ve played have been exceptionally different. Josh is very different from Owen in CRY WOLF. And not only that, the movies have been very different. Whereas CRY WOLF is, I don’t want to say generic, but it was a very Hollywood slasher of it’s time and I think that a film like SORORITY ROW which I just did is like a remake of one of those 90’s films like SCREAM ““ a lot of that dark twisted humor running though it and DONKEY PUNCH is more intellectual and serious one. I don’t know that I would describe it as a horror film as much as fascist almost in it’s intensity of extreme thriller in the way STRAW DOGS was and I know that Pauline Kael, the terrific critic, she coined it “fascist cinema” and I think DONKEY PUNCH is more in that genre. Like Michael Haneke’s film, FUNNY GAMES, CACHE, etc.

CS: Speaking of the way the movie unwinds, I read that it was very unique in that it was almost shot in sequence.

MORRIS: Yes, the director was great. Some things were done on stage and that was separate, but it was all one location on the boat, either below the boat or on deck and did that in sequence setting up the character development.

CS: The old adage of you never shoot on water

MORRIS: You never work with animals or kids…especially in porn.

(Laughs)

You know what? I think it was surprisingly nice shooting on water. It was a gorgeous super yacht that was the kind that you see on MTV owned my wealthy people or huge rock stars. It was great fun. And also the fact that we were all on this boat in this relatively small space. There weren’t dressing rooms, never in trailers, a single green room. We would be there in our wet costumes when it was cold, covered in blood and it was intense. There was never escape of the characters or anyone else and I think that intensity comes through in the film.

CS: How was that? Now you’ve been on a few sets of this kind ““ this variety. What kind of challenges does horror, an intense thriller, like this present? What do you have to bring to a role to really get that kind of emotion across in your performance?

MORRIS: Well I think in any scene you want to bring realism. I think with the horror genre you tend to be looking at the emotion of fear a lot and particularly with horror and I think it’s true with all cinema, at least in the cinema I like to make and the characterization I like to make, you want it to be an incredibly empathetic vicarious experience for the viewer in a sense that I want the audience to empathize with my character plus I want them to feel what my character is going through. Any successful cinema, when you are feeling what that character is going through, when you are in that experience, so whether I’m running away from a nice bear I can cry wolf I want the audience to be running with me. I want them to get that tightness in their chest, their heart pounding or in this film ““ there’s a torture scene and I’m digging a knife in someone (I hope I didn’t give anything away but I think it’s fine to say) I want the audience to be torturing that character with me or at least going through what I’m thinking and what I’m feeling while I’m doing it. If I’ve done that successfully that’s great. If not, oops.

CS: And I guess on that point as well and something I want to bring back with your stint on ER for a few episodes, is the idea of ensemble acting. How is that working within a group, is there a dynamic of sorts that has to take place, whereas do you have to throw it back or forward to make sure you don’t overshine anybody?

MORRIS: Ensemble is great. I think when you are in the lead in something there is just so much what the audience sees but there’s a lot of you are on your own a lot just because of how the filming and the machinations of the filming takes place. When you are doing a scene with a lot of other actors it won’t always be with the same people you’ll be in your travel a lot of the time. You’ll be first in and last out. You’ll spend a lot of time by yourself. The experience is quite isolated. The experience is all good but it’s isolated. Ensemble acting you are with your cast mates all the time. It’s a different feeling. A great sense of teamwork and I think it helps that you are always with the other actors and feeding off them, bouncing off them, not just on camera but off camera as well so you bring that to the set as well.

CS: Being that it’s an ensemble, ensemble cast as well, all these things working against you, first of all it’s low budget, second it’s that it’s a first time director, third you are shooting this thing in 24 days. Were there really any challenging moments where people had to come together to get something done, i.e. go beyond your acting duties, or did everything go smoothly?

MORRIS: This is about two people, the producer, Angus Lamont and also the first AV, Barry Wasserman. I think both AV’s don’t get credit nearly as much as they should but they were really in charge of creating the atmosphere and space on set with which to work between the actors and the directors. They did a tremendous job. So, although we shot in 24 days it was intense. It was challenging. We were jumping in the sea which was probably pretty close to freezing and spent long hours ““ at one point we shot 24 hours straight. We never got the feeling that we were being rushed at all or forced to act on the nail. The space was always really terrific to work in and very comfortable. That said, the intensity of the drive and the excitement of working in such confinement both on the boat and in time, did create a sense of urgency and intensity and I think that comes through in a successful way and translates itself very well into the film.

CS: Looking at the finished product, what came up on screen, a lot of films try to mimic this, why does this one stand out? Why is this film getting attention?

MORRIS: Because it’s very real and realism works in a number of ways. It works well for the horror. The horror is this fantastic imagined horror. The baddie isn’t some supernatural being with crazy feet. It’s us. We’re the enemy. The other characters are the enemy. We are each other’s own worst enemy. My character is his own worst enemy. Because it’s so real, the audience can associate with them far more. And in that sense, the experience for them is more haunting and exciting. And the last thing is that it’s real. When these kids are on the boat, and they are young people, they are doing what any other young person would be doing or would like to be doing with their best mates, gorgeous girls, drinking a little bit, skinny dipping in the Mediterranean as the sun’s setting. It’s a crazy orgy. And up until the point of the donkey punch it is really the best of youth or the best of any fanaticized youth. After which these real people are confronted with an extraordinary situation and how they deal with it is probably how many young people would deal with it and try to get away with it. And it all goes wrong and leads to this bloodbath. Does that make any sense?

CS: What elevated this? From the very beginning you would think that if you were explaining it to someone they would be apt to say “Nah, this seems like just another teen thing” but what elevated it for you?

MORRIS: I think Oliver Blackburn is probably one of the greatest directors working right now in Britain and his vision was incredible. The cinematic devices he used, whether it was slow motion which was reminiscent of Peckinpah, STRAW DOGS, he drives this menacing destructive crushing atmosphere that’s on this boat and it is a great experience when you are watching it. It’s definitely nails getting right down to the knuckle.

CS: Julian, I know our time is short so let me ask just one more question of you. You are doing a lot of TV, you’re doing a lot of films now, where is your heart taking you? Do you want to have your cake and eat it to? Do you want to keep doing both? What’s on the horizon?

MORRIS: Yeah. I think the line now between great film and great TV is diminished. I think it’s quite easy to swim between the two and I’m just enjoying playing great characters and I want to continue playing characters that inspire me and hopefully inspire those that watch them.

Ken P. D. Snyde-Cast #83: We Are Mighty

Filed under: Ken P.D. Snydecast — Tags: , , , , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 12:16 am

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Adult Swim’s Dana Snyder and FRED’s Ken Plume set out to have a literate conversation between two pals, but inevitably devolve into a verbal, and funny, free-for-all full of bickering, infighting, and the special kind of male bonding that comes from conflict expressed through the podcast medium.

Actor/comedian/raconteur Dana Snyder, you’re certainly aware, is Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s Master Shake, Squidbillies‘ Granny, Minoriteam’s Dr. Wang, and The Venture Bros.‘ Alchemist. Available for weddings and bar mitzvahs (bat availability pending), you can keep tabs on him via his website, www.eyeofthesnyder.com.

Ken Plume is the editor-in-chief here at FRED. He is a friend of Dana’s, as well as his arch-nemesis.

VISIT THE SNYDECAST EXPERIENCE

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KEN P.D. SNYDECAST #83: We Are Mighty – Ken & Dana return with tales of everything they’ve done, from burlesque excitement in the steamy south to live webcam shows with puppets. Ken also plugs the online charity event RedNoseNet.com.

[CONTENT WARNING]: This podcast may contain some foul language and horribly off-color jokes. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

DOWNLOAD: (right click to save)
Episode #83 (MP3 format)

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SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to this Podcast via iTunes

Got something to say? E-mail Dana & Ken at the Snydecast mailbag.

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CLICK HERE FOR THE SNYDECAST ARCHIVES

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February 19, 2009

Masters Of Song Fu #3: Round 2 Challenge Revealed!

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We here at Quick Stop Entertainment are true lovers of music, in all its forms. We’re also quite keen on the spirit of competition, and of spurring creativity through said competition.

To that end, we launched a brand new form of creative combat here at the Stop.

In this age of manufactured and painfully earnest talent contests, we’ve decided to instead shine a light on the quirky, quixotic underworld of musicians that don’t get nearly the attention they deserve.

Ah, but I did mention that there was a competition involved…

We invited 28 challengers to pick up the thrown-down gauntlet (You know, some spares as well). 26 Responded in time.

Like a songwriting version of Iron Chef, these 26 competitors are presented with a very specific songwriting challenge. They’ll be given one week to complete their songs – however they see fit, within the parameters set forth – after which time the entries will be uploaded to Quick Stop to be voted on by you, the readers.

In past editions of Song Fu, we’ve used these votes to eliminate Challengers as we’ve progressed from Challenge to Challenge. For this cycle, however, we’ve decided that all of the Challengers will be able to compete in every Challenge, and the Challenger with the most cumulative votes after the 3 Challenges will be the one that takes on the Master in the Final Round. So what was the first Challenge?

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ROUND 1 CHALLENGE

In light of all the doom and gloom of recent months, as financial markets crashed and winter closed in, we’re going to kick things off with a rather straightforward challenge. You can interpret this challenge however you’d like – how you do so will give people a sense of just what your songwriting personality and style is…

Your first challenge is to WRITE A HAPPY SONG.

That’s it. The only other directive is that your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 45 seconds.

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You’ll find the Round 1 songs from each of our Masters below, as well as the results of the Round 1 voting. More importantly, though, you’ll also discover what the Round 2 Challenge is!

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MASTERS OF SONG FU

For this edition of Song Fu, we’re bringing in 2 (well, 3, if you’re being technical) very special Masters who you’ll be going up against. Think of them as the iron chefs of Song Fu, and your ultimate challengers, as you’ll square off against one of them mano-a-mano in the Final Round:

NEIL INNES

songfu-innes.jpgIf you’re a bit puzzled but there’s a little twinge of recognition niggling at your subconscious right now, it’s probably because you already know who Neil Innes is without even realizing it.

It was during the Jurassic period (the late 60s) that Neil was a member of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. Madcap purveyors of esoteric music (Who else would revive music hall standards in the age of rock? They did it, and it worked!), their biggest hit was the deceptively poignant “I’m the Urban Spaceman.”

While firmly ensconced within the Bonzos, Neil first became acquainted (and vice-versa) with Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, and Terry Jones while working on DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET, a children’s show whose viewers tended to skew a bit older than the intended audience. Eric, Mike, and the two Terrys went on to form MONTY PYTHON with Graham Chapman and John Cleese. The Pythons called on Neil’s musical skills numerous times over the years, particularly when producing their best-selling albums. When John Cleese decided to move on to greener pastures prior to PYTHON’s fourth series, Neil stepped into the void as a contributing writer and performer.

Not able to escape the Pythons so easily, Neil was also tapped for MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL, contributing music and a memorable performance as the annoyingly truthful minstrel of Eric Idle’s cowardly Sir Robin. Still not willing to let him get away just yet, Neil was brought in again for their follow-up film, THE LIFE OF BRIAN (wherein he outruns certain death during the colosseum debate scene).

Even while working with the Pythons, Neil continued his solo career, releasing numerous albums on his own as well as with the groups The Grimms and The World. His BBC program, INNES BOOK OF RECORDS, ran for 3 series and featured 90 original tunes. From torch song and ballad to rock and parody, the show featured an exceedingly wide range of styles.

It was during the latter-half of the 70s, however, that Neil produced his most enduring work. While collaborating with Eric Idle on the post-Python TV series RUTLAND WEEKEND TELEVISION, the two devised a brief HARD DAY’S NIGHT parody with Idle portraying a boring filmmaker (so boring the camera ran from him) and Innes providing the Beatles-esque “I Must Be in Love.” During his next hosting gig on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, Idle unleashed the short film on the American public. That led to SNL’s Lorne Michaels producing a mockumentary of the mock-band, named The Rutles, for NBC. ALL YOU NEED IS CASH aired on March 22, 1978, starring Eric and Neil as one half of the “Pre-Fab Four” and featuring songs by Innes. In 1996, Innes reunited with Rutles bandmates John Halsey and Ricki Fataar to release THE RUTLES: ARCHEOLOGY, which sported 16 brand new tracks “discovered in the vaults,” a la THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY.

He recently released a new solo album, WORKS IN PROGRESS, and a brand new reunion album with the Bonzos, POUR L’AMOUR DES CHIENS. Neil continues to write and perform, and is in the process of recording his next solo album.

Official Website: www.innesbookofrecords.com
Twitter: twitter.com/NeilInnes
ROUND 1 SONG: “Imitation Song (Ron Nasty’s Last Song)“

PAUL & STORM

songfu-02.jpgPaul and Storm are a comedy music duo, and they have been performing as a duo since 2004. Before that, they were one half of a cappella band Da Vinci’s Notebook for about 12 years. A Paul and Storm show is part music concert and part standup/improv comedy”“just enough of both to fit neatly in neither category. They like to engage the audience, and are known to award snack cakes and/or other prizes for good (and sometimes bad) behavior. Their show would be PERFECT as a cable special, and would make lots of money for whichever brave channel decides to air them first.

Official Website: www.paulandstorm.com
Twitter: twitter.com/paulandstorm
ROUND 1 SONG: “Hippie with a Djembe“

GARFUNKEL & OATES

songfu-garfuneloates.jpgRiki “Garfunkel” Lindhome and Kate “Oates” Micucci make up this band, which is a mixture of acoustic folk, comedy and pure sugar. Riki has been seen in The Changeling, My Best Friend’s Girl, Pushing Daisies, Gilmore Girls and Million Dollar Baby. You can catch Kate in Scrubs, When in Rome, Four Kings, How I Met Your Mother, or in her one-woman show “Playing with Micucci” at the Steve Allen Theater.

Official Website: www.garfunkelandoates.com
Twitter: twitter.com/KateMicucci
ROUND 1 SONG: “The Happy Song“

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In a moment, you’ll discover the details of the first challenge. First, though, here is the list of challengers:

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THE CHALLENGERS

JEFF MacDOUGALL

songfu-jeffmcdougall.jpgJeff’s stint of reigning challenger in MoSF#1 (yet ultimately losing to Master Jonathan Coulton) has won him critical acclaim from around the world. Or is it criticism from around his house? Either way, he’s back for more and hoping to balance bringing the Fu with taking out the trash.

Official Website: www.jeffmacdougall.com
Twitter: twitter.com/jeffmacdougall
ROUND 1 SONG: “The Bop Bop Song“

EDRIC HALEEN

songfu-edrichaleen.jpgEdric has been writing music (off and on) for the past fifteen years. He wrote and directed a musical, The Pushcart War, based on Jean Merrill’s wonderful novel. He has written and/or arranged a number of songs for various friends – some commissioned, some as surprises. He loves acting in community theatre, and is inspired by the music of Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty – and yes, Jonathan Coulton, who in addition to writing wonderful songs, also served as a portal to finding out about the Song Fu competition.

Official Website: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2arBC7f-6FY
ROUND 1 SONG: “(Happiness)“

“BUCKETHAT” BOBBY MATHESON

songfu-buckethatbobby.jpgI’m “BucketHat” Bobby Matheson. I used to make cartoons for the internet, and sometimes still do, but mostly focus on my music right now. Lately, I’ve been getting more into recording other singer/songwriters in my little, make-shift studio than I have been recording myself. I want Masters Of Song Fu to change that. I don’t really know what genre my music would fall under. Influences range from Klezmer to folk, to punk and back, which ends up sounding more like Zydeco than anything else (who’d have guessed?). I’ve been thinking of dropping the “BucketHat” from my stagename, but fear change.

Official Website: www.buckethatbobby.randomsociety.com
Twitter: twitter.com/BucketHatBobby
ROUND 1 SONG: “You Gotta Smile“

INSANE IAN

songfu-ianbonds.jpgInsane Ian is a comedian and writer from Baltimore, Maryland who specializes in all things nerdy, both in parody and original compositions. From Sci-fi TV shows and films, to video games, to comic books – no nerdy topic escapes his sardonic (and satiric) wit. Among his peers – such as Sudden Death, the great Luke Ski, Jonathan Coulton and, of course, “Weird Al” Yankovic – he is the only artist to have written this bio, and remains at the top of that list. Currently, his song “Guitar Hero” (from his upcoming album n3rds0ngs) was the 11th most requested song on the Dr. Demento radio show in 2008. Usually for a song, I.I. surrounds himself with talented people to make himself look better… and now is no exception, as friend and producer Benjamin Stahl helps on instrumental duties.

Official Website: www.insaneian.com
ROUND 1 SONG: “Happy“

JOE “COVENANT” LAMB

My name is Joe Lamb, I’ve been known online as JoeCovenant, or JoeCov, Or just Cov for the last decade or so. I’m 45 and have been performing for 40 of those years. Up until 2005 I was solely a professional actor/singer, but I am now also a Civil Servant and work for Her Majesty. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 10, but still think Bar Chords are things played in pubs. (I can’t do ’em!) I’m not too bad on the Bhodran and can pick out a tune on a keyboard when pushed”¦ really hard. I’ve always been frustrated that my ideas outdistance my abilities, so my output is always rather simplistic… But I like to think that, occasionally, synergy does its job well! This contest will be my first use of my new recording equipment… hope it doesn’t throw my limitations to the fore!

Official Website: www.mikeoldfield.net/shadowland.html
ROUND 1 SONG: “What Makes You Feel Happy“

MICK BORDET

songfu-mickbordet.jpgMick Bordet steadfastly insists on bouncing between and across genres at every opportunity like a hummingbird with ADD, using an eclectic collection of instruments for his sonic palette, from guitar and ukulele to theremin, yobstick and electric harmonium. Mick is a founder member of “The Lunacy Board”, Scotland’s premier progressive avant-garde skiffle duo, and cites influences as diverse as Edgard Varèse, Ivor Cutler, Conlon Nancarrow, and Roy Harper, to name but four. The duo have recently released three debut albums, including one written, recorded, and mixed within a single day. Mick’s latest project is a year-long weekly podcast set in an alternative universe as it diverges from our reality.

Official Website: mickbordet.blogspot.com
ROUND 1 SONG: “Happy People“

RUSTY’S ROCKING JAMBOREE

“Rusty’s Rocking Jamboree” is a one-man, music and comedy show for family audiences, starring Russ Rogers.  While in college, twenty-some years ago, Russ Rogers was in a band called, “Buc Blaster and His Ukulele Rangers.”  There are several noteworthy alumni of “The Ukulele Rangers,” including Song Fu Master Michael J. Nelson.  Later, Rogers and Andy LaCasse (also a Ukulele Ranger)  partnered to form the almost near famous, children’s music and comedy duo, “Kit and Kaboodle.”  After ten years and three albums (still available on iTunes and CDBaby.com), “Kit and Kaboodle” broke up over musical differences.  LaCasse was musical … an d Rogers was just different.  Now, “Rusty’s Rocking Jamboree” has been entertaining family audiences around Minnesota for the past five years.

Official Website: www.rockingjamboree.com
Twitter: twitter.com/RockingJamboree
ROUND 1 SONG: “Happy Walking Song“

THE MASKED STRANGER

The Masked Stranger (a.k.a Neal John Mac Rae), is a self proclaimed noise/folk artist from Nova Scotia, Canada. Although his work has gone completely unnoticed on an official level, he has still managed to garner several fans from Australia and amoungst his close friends. The Masked Stranger project started in 2004 when Neal John recorded “The River Song”, a simple panflute tune he furiously augmented and destroyed on his computer. Since then he has created roughly 30 other distinctly more destroyed and demented tracks under the moniker of The Masked Stranger. His music has been described as “a total disregard for musical theory”, “aaaaaaaah!”, “raw and grating”, “annoying”, “Twisting is a word I want to use to describe it… Very natural and earthly”, and “disturbing and yet… strangely enjoyable”. His most well liked and most consistant piece “Rue The Red” was described by Cape Breton goregrind artist Devin Meaney as “a posessed man jigging out on the strings of his creator. Like a puppet, devouring the flesh of god. And this is exactly what it reminds me of, no joke.”. This awkward and soil laiden musician’s journeys into the abrassive and the tribal only threaten to continue.

Official Website: www.myspace.com/themaskedstranger777
ROUND 1 SONG: “My Personal Eccentric Happiness“

HEATHER HENDERSON

Heather Henderson has been entertaining America since she was seven years old. She got her start as a mini dancing superstar and co-host on Dance Party USA. Her career then made the natural progression towards Sesame Street and most recently a principal role in the Disney film Annapolis. Striving constantly to develop as an artist, The Big H sings with the bad-ass 60’s retro soul group SOULAMITE!, performs with the Revival Burlesque troupe in philadelphia, makes short films, writes funny songs, and is always looking for the next good audition. She hopes to have her own totally crappy and misquoted Wikipedia entry one day.

Official Website: www.HHenderson.com
Twitter: twitter.com/HeatherHenderso
ROUND 1 SONG: “Happy Song“

BRYCE JENSEN

Bryce Jensen has been writing songs off and on for well over twenty years, but he has rarely shared any of them beyond his friends and family.  His styles range from a capella to heavy metal with a lot of wimpy finger picking stuff in between.  Bryce took part in the recent Holiday Special edition of the Song Fu and found the constraints and deadline to be quite a rush.  He also learned that sharing his work with the world can be very rewarding.  Back for this competition because he is hooked and needs another fix, Bryce is looking forward to whatever crazy challenges lie ahead.

Official Website: www.brycejensen.com
Twitter: twitter.com/psychobman
ROUND 1 SONG: “As Happy As Me“

JEFF FARDINK

Jeff began playing guitar in 2003. He wrote his first comedy song in early 2004, and later that year, he wrote a song that was actually funny and in key, unlike his earlier works.  He began playing shows after accidentally opening for a local band while passing through a bar. He continues to play because nobody has told him to stop.

Official Website: www.JeffFardink.com
ROUND 1 SONG: “Let The Happiness In“

TIMOTHY RUSH

On stage I am Timmy Vendetta. I’m 18 and I live with my mom and her wife. I hope to become famous and live vicariously through a hamster.

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Official Website: www.myspace.com/tweed234
ROUND 1 SONG: “The Happy Song“

CRABBYDAD

Crabbydad is a writer/sound designer/musician who, four years ago, was forced to leave all of his bands and musical compatriots behind in Chicago when his Old Lady got herself a proffesorin’ gig at a giant university in a tiny mid-Michigan town that’s devoid of any sort of culture, musical or otherwise. So he started recording songs with his kids and posting them on his blog for his four or five readers to hear. When he’s not recording songs about spiders and/or poop, he creates comedy, sound effects, and music for a company called Jellyvision, Inc.

Official Website: crabbydad.blogspot.com
ROUND 1 SONG: “Happy (H.A.P.P.Y.)“

HANK GREEN

Hank Green never wrote a song until his eternal passion for Helen Hunt (both as an actress and a woman) started off a multi-year YouTube project in which he writes a song every other Wednesday. The songs are part of a larger project in which he and his brother discuss their lives, their world, and the community of which they are a part. Their videos have now been watched more than 20 million times. Hank’s first album, SO JOKES, was just released and is available at DFTBA.com.

Official Website: www.nerdfighters.com
ROUND 1 SONG: “The Deep Sea Anglerfish“

MIKE LOMBARDO

Mike Lombardo is a piano-playing pop-rock singer-songwriter who likes to use hyphens when describing his occupation. He has been known to write songs about just about anything, including rocks and SAW 4. When not banging on a piano, Mike spends most of his time  playing way too many video games and fighting with his roomate. Currently finishing up his degree in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music, he will be touring the country this summer with his band, the Mike Lombardo Trio. Feel free to go to his website and send him lots of money. Or cookies.

Official Website: www.mikelombardomusic.com
Twitter: twitter.com/mikelombardo
ROUND 1 SONG: “Caroline“

HALLELUJAH APE

“Hallelujah Ape” is the working name for the personal musical projects of Paul Abbott. When he’s not playing bass guitar and shouting in such bands as Three Minute Margin, he’s usually fiddling with a ukulele or trying to write Manfred Mann inspired songs for films that don’t exist. Main influences are The Bonzo’s, The Beatles and Fugazi. He owns many comedy things and likes to rub his face up against them when no-one is looking. He also co-writes the British Foghorn Company blog.

Official Website: www.myspace.com/hallelujahape
Twitter: twitter.com/Pablovich
ROUND 1 SONG: “Do What You Want“

JALEPENO HABANEROS

In the far off land of Chandler, Arizona, where the rivers flow with sand and cacti, our leader and master, the Lord of Our Lady Gwynyth, guitar and microphone in hand, called for the greatest musicians in the land to assemble a rock and roll group like none other. Unfortunately, they were cut off on the road, and the Jalapeño Habañeros made it there first. With The Rogue Bohemian on saxophone and The Boxcar Bassist on bass and keyboards, the Lord was pleased. Now, they roam the streets of Chandler, playing epic songs and rocking faces, much like Bon Jovi. Unfortunately they are paid in change, and often get thrown into the street, also like Bon Jovi. Their lives have intertwined, and the era of the Jalapeño Habañeros has begun. Be prepared.

Official Website: None
ROUND 1 SONG: “The Pompadour Song“

HAZEN NESTER

Hazen Nester is a multi-platinum-selling*, award-winning**, and incredibly gifted”  songwriter.  His works have been described as “heavenly”, “complex”, and “thought-provoking” by his critics and fans.” ” Â  He has, to date, three full albums”¡, two EPs”¡”¡, and is currently working on a new collection of work§. He holds a B.S. degree§§, an MFAâ•‘, and a PhDâ•‘â•‘ and currently lives in Michigan, where he spends his days writing songs and working in the fulfilling and worthwhile sector of public-access television.  Apart from songwriting, his hobbies include cinema, golf, and the occasional role in various stage and audio productions. 🙂 [* – Lie, ** – Another lie, ”  – Bold-faced lie, ” ”  – His mom. They’re one and the same, really., “¡ – More lies, “¡”¡ – Yet another lie, § – Another lie. No, wait, actually that one’s true., §§ – In film. How appropriate., ? – Lie. What a surprise there., ?? – Do I really have to put this here?, 🙂 – That’s probably the most truthful statement in this entire document.]

Official Website: www.hazennester.com
ROUND 1 SONG: “Wide-Eyed Happy“

AUDIOMOHEL

Forged in the furnace of irony, molded with the hammer of satire, flattened on the anvil of righteousness, and cooled in the water of awesomeness, AudioMohel was thrust upon the world. Named from the lost audio transcripts of ’09, AudioMohel serves as a public-service backlash against the anti-circumcision trend sweeping the so-called “enlightened parents” crowd, AudioMohel urges their more devoted and impressionable fans to undergo the snip two or even three times. AudioMohel enjoys experimenting with new breakthrough genres like speed blues and death classical even though most of AudioMohel’s tunes reside firmly in the ethereal realm of vapor-ware. Some of AudioMohel’s members admitted to being a bit intimidated by the professed experience and actual musical talent apparently possessed by the Song Fu Masters, but finally it was decided that if the need arose, sabotage would not be out of the question. To be used as a last resort, naturally, but not out of the question.

Official Website: www.AudioMohel.com
Twitter: twitter.com/AudioMohel
ROUND 1 SONG: “Parole Day“

MOLLY LEWIS

When she’s not bluffing her way through college courses or looking passably attractive from a distance, Molly Lewis enjoys playing ukulele, microwaving marshmallow Peeps, talking to cats, and Twittering. Early last year, she wrote two original songs, “MyHope” and “Road Trip”. “MyHope” is about the inevitable day when our children will learn how to navigate the interweb and how they will LOL at our old internet presences, namely MySpace; of “Road Trip”, Molly says it’s about “that astronaut lady who went crazy and wore the diapers, you remember that?”  She has not written any songs since.  Hopefully this competition will remedy that. When Molly was in middle school, she took up the guitar. That sank into the swamp. So she took up the mandolin. That sank into the swamp. So she took up the banjo. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the ukulele has stayed. And that’s what you’re going to get, Quick Stop Entertainment: the strongest ukulele in all of Tacoma, Washington.

Official Website: www.sweetafton23.com/primer/
Twitter: twitter.com/Molly23
ROUND 1 SONG: “I Pity The (Song) Fu“

JARRETT HEATHER

Although he has no formal training, Jarrett is an accomplished pianist who has been composing music for nearly twenty years.  A relative newcomer to the world of online amateur competitive songwriting, he burst onto the scene earlier this year when he filled out an entry form just before the deadline.  While earning his living as a graphic artist and website developer, Jarrett secretly dreams of leaving behind the glamor and prestige of internet publishing so he can focus on composing music for songwriting contests full-time.  With no fanbase, loyal followers, obedient minions or friends, Jarrett will rely on his music-crafting skills alone to win over converts and earn votes.

Official Website: www.spaceparanoids.net
Twitter: twitter.com/SpaceParanoids
ROUND 1 SONG: “One Little Happy Thought“

JUTZE SCHULT

songfu-jutzeschult.jpgJohannes “Jutze” Schult (from Germany) likes to make songs about weird stories and situations. It’s all about creating a musical scenario that is somewhat original, yet believable by some stretch of imagination. Jutze used to play drums in a heavy metal band, and then founded his own pop band where he played guitar. These days he’s mainly doing solo work for the fun of it.

Official Website: www.jutze.com
ROUND 1 SONG: “A Mallful Of Brains“

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ROUND 2 CHALLENGE

Write a song containing *exactly* 10 unique words (this includes words such as a, and, the, etc.). You can repeat the words you choose as few or as many times as you want, but the sum total of the unique words can not be less than or more than 10.. You can write on any topic and in any style. Your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 15 seconds.

Your song must be submitted in mp3 form (128-192kbps) either via e-mail (to songfu @ asitecalledfred.com – remember to remove the spaces) or a file upload service (like RapidShare or YouSendIt). Deadline for submission is 11:59pm EST on Thursday, February 26th, 2009.

Voting on Round 2 submissions will commence on Friday, February 27th, 2009.

If you want some inspiration, here’s how some other artists tackled happy songs…
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ROUND 1 VOTING RESULTS – THE CHALLENGERS

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View Results

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ROUND 1 VOTING RESULTS – THE MASTERS

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View Results

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If you triumph, not only will you win remarkable (and potentially off-putting) bragging rights and a clutch of fantastic mystery prizes, you will also become the proud owner of the magnificent, one-of-a-kind MASTER OF SONG FU TROPHY.

Good luck, and bring on the Fu.

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February 18, 2009

Cabin Fever #57: Widge Is Of Madison County

Filed under: Cabin Fever — Tags: , , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 1:14 pm

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cabin.jpgOh no! Just when you thought it was safe to hang out at FRED…

Cabin Fever (hosted by the twisted souls Brian Fitzpatrick and Aaron Poole) is the result of having too much time on your hands and access to your local community radio station.

Over the course of an hour, they manage to trawl the depths of good taste, plus throw some music in. How much more could you want from a podcast?… Quality? Oh… we didn’t think of that.

Enjoy! And we hope our cross Atlantic friends can understand the Irish accent 😉

Hugs and Kisses,
Aaron P. + Rev. Fitzy

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CABIN FEVER #57: Widge Is Of Madison County – Brian couldn’t pull himself from the brink of death in time this week to record the best darn podcast fake money can buy, so Aaron recruits internet entrepreneur and man-about-town Widgett Walls to add a certain level of class and random knowledge to the proceedings. Topics of getting TV wrong, 12-year-old fathers, and kissing bans are all broached with gusto, and Aaron actually remembers to include the song at the end of the show this week, too! So thanks to yaG Backwards for their patience.

[CONTENT WARNING]: Explicit contents! We say every naughty word you can think of. You have been warned!

DOWNLOAD: (right click to save)
Episode #57 (MP3 format)

[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/cabinfever/cabin_fever_57.mp3]

SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to this Podcast via iTunes

Got something to say? E-mail Aaron & Brian at the Cabin Fever mailbag.

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Contest Round-Up: STAR WARS: TUSKEN RAIDER, BACK TO THE FUTURE, HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE, DEAD LIKE ME, & CHANGELING!

Filed under: Articles — Tags: , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 1:02 pm

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Welcome to our weekly round-up of featured giveaways here at Quick Stop. Every Wednesday, we’ll present a new clutch of DVDs, books, and other cool stuff you can take a shot at winning. All you have to do is click on the graphics below to be taken to their respective contest pages. And good luck!

In conjunction with Sideshow Collectibles, we’re giving away one (1) exclusive edition STAR WARS: TUSKEN RAIDER Premium Format Figure.

In conjunction with Universal Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) sets of BACK TO THE FUTURE, BACK TO THE FUTURE II, and BACK TO THE FUTURE III on DVD.

In conjunction with MGM Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE on DVD.

In conjunction with MGM Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of DEAD LIKE ME: LIFE AFTER DEATH on DVD.

In conjunction with Universal Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of CHANGELING on DVD.

Win CHANGELING on DVD!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 1:00 pm

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In conjunction with Universal Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of CHANGELING on DVD.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 11h.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 11h.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

Win DEAD LIKE ME: LIFE AFTER DEATH on DVD!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 12:50 pm

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In conjunction with MGM Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of DEAD LIKE ME: LIFE AFTER DEATH on DVD.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 11h.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 11h.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

Win HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE on DVD!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 12:39 pm

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In conjunction with MGM Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE on DVD.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 11h.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 11h.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

Win the BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY on DVD!

Filed under: Contests — Tags: , , , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 12:29 pm

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In conjunction with Universal Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) sets of BACK TO THE FUTURE, BACK TO THE FUTURE II, and BACK TO THE FUTURE III on DVD.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 11h.

CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Official Rules

No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.

No Purchase necessary to win.

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

One entry per day, per person.

All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 11h.

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.

TV Or Not TV: 2/16 – 2/22

Filed under: TV Or Not TV — Tags: — admin @ 12:54 am

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Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I really don’t think I need a television any more.

Let’s face it folks, content delivery is the name of the game for just about any broadcast medium. You have to get it to the people. It used to be in the wonderful world of television you were able to manipulate the masses by forcing them to bend to your will and make them sit somewhere at a certain time of your choosing if they wanted to be entertained. If you wanted to watch it you had to be at the right place at the right time and on the right channel. There was no getting around it.

The home video tape revolution started to offset this a little so that people could try to record the shows that they couldn’t be for or, in my house, it would record one channel for us while we were watching another. The TV enthusiast would also use the video tape system to capture the things they were actually watching as well so that they could view it again and again, or share it with friends. These were the beginning of good times, but they were often wrought with frustration as a channel change being missed or a tape not replaced would ruin the whole set up. It wasn’t perfect but it worked.

The DVR was the really the great evolution in home video recording and it is one that has changed many facets of the way that television advertising is done and ratings are determined. Most DVR’s allow you to convenienty skip over the commercials in far less time than a video tape allowed us, and as such more commercials and product placements are placed within the show itself to ensure that we are seeing their products (last season of the SciFi show Eureka‘s synergistic advertising of Degree deoderant is a shining example).

Best of all the DVR captured the television we were recording in to some type of digital format that a dilligent user might find the way to extract and convert so they could conveniently remove the commercials and start sharing the show with their friends. Heck, even if you didn’t have a stand alone DVR there are so many ways to turn a stand alone computer into a DVR that it is no surprise how many shows were becoming available on the Internet in certain circles. The shows were getting out there and you didn’t have to rely on cousin Tony in Newark sending you his VHS tape to catch up on the show you missed.

Each of these steps has taken the broadcast networks to the natural evolution: delivery of their shows via the Internet to personal computing and mobile devices. If you think about it, as I’m sure they did, they didn’t really have any choice. If the video industry learned one important thing from the music industry it was that you can’t fight the Internet. If there was any way to curtail the illegal distribution of their product it was to embrace the Internet and start delivering it themselves, on their terms, with some ad revenue helping fund the cost. Change the old school thinking and make sure that you still control how people see what you want them to see.

So as I sit here reflecting on all of this, and after having caught up on some of my shows either from my laptop via the Internet or my iPhone during my commute I have to ask, “Do I really need a televisoin any more?”

Thankfully I do have a TV and if you are reading this you must have one too so let’s take a look at the scraps that are out there for us to try to enjoy.

MONDAY

SCIFI – 8:00 AM: Before Bryan Fuller created Pushing Daisies (and after Wonderfalls) he created the quirky dark comedy Dead Like Me. Since the Direct-To-DVD movie Dead Like Me: Life After Death is released tomorrow this is a great time to introduce yourself to this very entertaining show.

TLC – 9:00 AM: Get your Roloff on with a marathon day of Little People, Big World.

ABC FAMILY – 2:00 PM: If my prodding has made you think about watching The Secret Life of the American Teenager (or if you have nothing better to watch during the national holiday) you can now watch it for 7 straight hours.

TUESDAY

FOX – 8:00 PM: The first 12 of the top 36 performers take the stage tonight on American Idol. Will one be the next Kelly Clarkson or Taylor Hicks (how many of you just said “Taylor Who?”)

NBC – 8:00 PM: Tonight the contestants on The Biggest Loser have to work out without the benefits of a gym. To me that reads as trying to lose weight without dropping pounds.

TBS – 10:30 PM: This syndicated airing of The Office was directed by Joss Whedon and is one that I highly recommend.

WEDNESDAY

FOX – 8:00 PM: The first three of the final 12 are chosen tonight on American Idol. That leaves 9 hopefuls out in the cold. If you want to make it a drinking game take a shot every time someone cries.

FMC – 9:00 PM: There was a movie that started a slew of Gene Wilder / Richard Pryor movies. It was called Silver Streak. Watch it.

ABC – 9:00 PM: Well I didn’t get my Black Rock fix last week on LOST but my mind was as entertained as it was blown away. This season so far is television greatness. I hope you aren’t missing it.

THURSDAY

NBC – 8:00 PM: Danny Glover guess stars on My Name is Earl as someone claiming to be Crab Man‘s dad. Isn’t he getting too old for this $h!t?

CW – 8:00 PM: If you didn’t see the Smallville episode Identity the first time it aired than you really missed out.

FRIDAY

USA – 8:00 PM: The season is coming to a close for Monk. Didn’t it just get back on?

FOX – 9:00 PM: Tonight’s episode of Dollhouse has Echo being a counterpart to an outdoors man. Nothing says sexy like chicks with bows and aarows.

USA – 9:00 PM: Wait, this is the season finale of Psych as well? What, are we watching the BBC and we only get six episodes of a show per season?

SATURDAY

ABC FAMILY – 8:00 PM: Witness the cultural greatness of the original Grease followed by the stunningly awkward Grease 2.

CARTOON NETOWRK – 8:00 PM: If you didn’t pick up Justice League: The New Frontier on DVD than you can enjoy it tonight free of charge.

OXYGEN – 8:00 PM: Some might say the ultimate stay-in date movie is Sleepless in Seattle. Who am I to argue?

SUNDAY

ABC – 8:30 PM E/5:30 PM P: Wolverine is hosting the Oscars and almost all of the networks have thrown in the towel about airing anything worthwhile.

CBS – 8:00 PM: The Amazing Race 14 doesn’t fear the Oscars.

ABC FAMILY – 7:00 PM: So this is weird. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is followed by Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. At least they didn’t try to stick Mark Wahlberg before Charlton Heston with Planet of the Apes.

– Will Wilkins is glad you decided to read this.

February 17, 2009

SModcast 76

Filed under: SModcast — Tags: , , , , , , — UncaScroogeMcD @ 12:12 am

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Your TextSModcast is the meandering palaver of a pair of dudes whose voices are so dull, they don’t deserve to be on the radio (and, hence, aren’t). Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier are SModcast.The best thing about SModcast? It don’t cost nothing.

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SModcast 76: The Great One –

In which a hero returns from the wild, another hero is discovered, and yet another hero can’t stop bawling.

[CONTENT WARNING] SModcast features harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Listener discretion is advised.

DOWNLOAD: (right click to save)
SModcast 76 (MP3 format) – 113.25 MB

[display_podcast]

SUBSCRIBE
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Wanna add your two cents? Spend it here, in the SModcast mailbag.

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CLICK HERE FOR THE SMODCAST ARCHIVES

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February 16, 2009

Opinion In A Haystack: Bloody Cheese

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Michael and Leatherface came back, Jason’s just passed through the re-birthing canal, and Freddy, Chucky, and Pinhead are clawing their way up the fallopian tubes. So…

In Defense of the Crimson Cheese

There is a sect of 80’s horror fans that do not adhere to the common adage of “once a franchise delves into self-parody it dies.” The absolute beauty of horror that originated in the decade of decadence is how they all started out as maniacal ideas, executed with a serious tone and passion. Freddy, Chucky, Jason, Michael Myers, and Pinhead all started out this way. Then, after success, there was an attempt to copy that tone and passion a few times, which for the most part resulted in a “meh” type of feeling. There are exceptions like Dream Warriors, but for the most part the median of these franchises are forgettable. This is of course when the self parody begins. Flicks such as Freddy’s Dead, Jason X, Bride of Chucky, and ultimately Freddy vs. Jason all delved back into the serious nature of their beginnings and made a joke out of it (some would argue it started even earlier then these movies.) Please, don’t get me wrong, straight horror can be amazing, but that is not the focal point here… it’s about this specific generation of mainstream horror franchises.

Of course, this caused a lot of horror fans disappointment with their cries of how it isn’t scary anymore and how they are more comedic then horrific. So? What’s the problem? Are you seriously telling me that you were actually scared of the original movies? Are you seriously saying that the reason you enjoyed them so much was because they incited fear in you? If your answer is yes, then I need to ask if you have ever watched any of them more then once and more recently then 20 years ago? Are you really a fan, or do you just remember them being more brutal and horrific then they were? If you have such an austere lust for the most demented, gore spewing, psycho characters… what is more “psycho” then killing someone with a healthy sense of humor? Perhaps those of us who were never legitimately scared by slasher flicks are prone to enjoy the comedic, hedonistic side of things more; hence that is what gobbled up the straight terror end of the spectrum.

Look, the first Nightmare, the first Child’s Play, the first Halloween, the first Friday are all beautifully made horror classics, but all these 80’s franchises were unique unto themselves and their time period in one way that really has never been replicated… we started to root for the villains. As for the sick, cold, beautiful bastards that always root for the villain no matter what… we love you, but this isn’t directed at you, now go masturbate to Cannibal Holocaust. The 80’s horror icons, our generation’s Universal Monsters, somehow became the heroic protagonists of the story. The first films in the franchises were created to scare and viewed to be scared, but time and sequels changed the social response to creating these flicks to “WOW” the audience with funny kills and viewing it to laugh at how many one dimensional nymphomaniac 20-somethings they will carve up next. Freddy Krueger was a child molesting murderer and yet it got to the point where we cheered as he slaughtered innocents. THAT WAS THE FUN OF ALL THIS!

This all lead to the characters being caricatures of themselves… which was never detrimental, if anything they stayed more honest to their origins this way, but were free to do anything under the sun. Look at Freddy vs. Jason, director Ronny Yu understood what made these guys great, the look, the back-story, the lore, the comedy, the kills. Sure the humans in that movie were garbage, who cares? This is not about “quality” or writing or any standardized pretentious film arguments. This is about understanding what made these characters stick around for so long and become so beloved. It wasn’t even specifically the flicks, it was the characters! Sure they all had their earnest moment at the beginning when it was supposed to be scary and we were supposed to be rooting for the good guys, and for most of them it was done right the first go around. Why do we always have to go back and try to make everything serious again? Re-release movies if you have to, some things should stay as artifacts and beacons of their time. If the franchises never embraced the villain’s status as a champion of hilarious murder they would NEVER have obtained the iconic heights they have now. Ok, how about we settle it with this… as long as the killer’s nature and persona are kept in tact, all is well. Period.

(Also, none of the above pertains to any horror character, or franchise created in the 90s… that was a whole different animal of parody that was lame beyond belief.)

With that said…

Friday The 13th : A Review of the last 10 minutes that would make Larry David Proud.

******SPOILERS******SPOILERS********SPOILERS************

There is really no need to review the whole movie; it was half travesty and half brutal fun. Jason looked physically bad ass (still not as iconically perfect as Ken Kirzinger or Kane Hodder); Derek Mears gave a good performance with his physical presence. Very akin to Rob Zombie’s Halloween the stuff that was added to the persona of the character destroyed it. Mr. Vorhees doesn’t set traps, he doesn’t keep hostages, he doesn’t practice archery and he most certainly doesn’t have an elaborate headquarters of death. Honestly, I think the best thing to come out of this film is the completely definitive image on the gorgeous theatrical release poster.

It seemed at times that Marcus Nispel was trying to remake his other remake, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with this remake. Add a slight dollop of Leatherface from the 1986 Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, with the whole sympathetic pseudo sexual victim relationship and a sprinkle of that awful too-close-shaky cam crud and you got the new Friday. The acting was good, the comic-relief surprisingly funny, the plot simple as it should be, and the intelligence/booby level was equalized appropriately. All I want to discuss, in brief, is the ending. If you want a well written full-review just head on over to the talented Christopher Stipp’s much more thorough and different assessment:

http://asitecalledfred.com/2009/02/13/trailer-park-friday-the-13th-and-shopaholic-reviewed/

**********EVEN BIGGER SPOILERS*********

There are two groups of teenagers in the movie. The first, on a mission to find Crystal Lake’s best weed, get destroyed by Jason in the very beginning. The exception being the girl who supposedly looks like Jason’s mother, he takes her hostage, locks her up in his basement lair while he is out… um… bringing home the bacon. The second group is simply a bunch of wealthy kids going up to stay in daddy’s lake-side cabin for a weekend of boners, beer, and republican conversation.

Supernatural‘s Jared Padalecki plays Clay Miller, the brother of Whitney, the chick locked in Jason’s love nest. Cut to after Jason is supposedly dead. It’s night time. Mr. Voorhees has a chain wrapped around his neck, the other end of said chain is tangled up inside a wood-chipper which is located in a barn. I will give the benefit of the doubt and say the barn is roughly a mile away from the lake. Also note that Clay has no knowledge of Jason’s story, legend, or origin. Cut to the scene of both Millers standing on the Camp Crystal Lake dock, it’s now day time, Clay kicks Jason’s dead body into the water… and then Jason pops back up through the dock to grab him. Cut to credits.

Ok… I laughed out loud in the theater. Not because it was awful, not because it was badly shot, not because it was meant to be humorous, but because of the plethora of questions!!! Not questions about Jason returning to life… questions about WHY IN THE HELL DID THEY DRAG 300 POUNDS OF DEAD WEIGHT ALL THE WAY TO THE LAKE AND DUMP HIM IN? WHY!

Think about it… There are somewhere around 12 freshly murdered corpses in the area, probably hundreds more in Jason’s home. You and your sister/brother have gone through the most traumatic and exhausting experience of your entire life, yet you manage to take down a lumbering psychotic professional killing machine whom you know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT. Would your first instinct be to spend the next 3 hours, cutting him down from the wood chipper, and doing your best to move a humongous, foul-smelling, corpse all the way to the lake and dump out the only evidence to prove to the cops, the world, and everyone that you yourself did not go on a brother/sister killing spree? They effectively spent all night moving this body… with no motive, they didn’t even consider going to get help? None of this occurred to them in the LONG arduous trek these two tired, broken victims spent transporting the corpse? Clay is shown to be a pretty smart guy throughout the whole movie too. I mean I can deal with stupid characters in horror films… but this is just beyond absurd, they are going WAY out of their way to do this meaningless act, which is actually a detriment to their future well being (a.k.a. Not going to jail.) Let’s not forget that a cop was brutally murdered here… No one is going to take this lightly.

I realize I am over analyzing an extremely lazy storytelling device, one that only served to give Jason a chance to pop out of the water, but it’s absolutely hilarious. I also realize that Whitney heard her friend at the beginning of the film say something about Jason’s origin… but come on… she has been a hostage for 6 weeks! A month an a half in a constant state of fear and god only knows what Jason was giving her to eat, the last thing this chick would want to do is spend a few hours dragging a corpse through the woods in order to be symbolic! What truly made me laugh is the thought of the movie cutting away right after Clay kicks Jason into the lake, and then we go straight to a conversation with Clay Miller and the police:

Cop: You kids ok?

Clay Miller: Well I’m a little banged up, and she’s been held hostage for 6 weeks but yeah, we’ll live.

Cop: so you say Jason Voorhees did this?

Clay Miller: yes, he’s a psychopath… he brutally murdered everyone…

Cop: WELL… where’s the body, got to call in forensics and such. You said you killed him in the barn right?

Clay Miller: he died in the barn, yes sir, but we dumped his corpse in the lake… so…

Cop: The lake? What the hell for? Because of the legends?

Clay Miller: Legends? No… we just… we just figured the lake would be fitting, you know?

Cop: Fitting? Your tellin’ me you disposed of the body of the prime suspect in well over hundreds of missing person cases including last nights murders?

Clay Miller: hmm… should we not have done that? Was that a bad idea? “˜cause I gotta be honest, we started to question it ourselves as we were both crying and dragging his body through the woods.

Cop: God damn…

Clay Miller: So next time… no lake… check. Got it. Man… he was HEVVVVV-EEEE too… Haha.

Cop: get in the car.

You know what, it’s so absurd it actually makes the movie better. Thanks for reading!

February 13, 2009

A Bit Of A Chat with Ken Plume & Matt Berry

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I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.

In this episode, I’m having a bit of a chat with actor and musician Matt Berry.

Though he’d been making his way around the club circuit as a musician and performer for a few years up to that point, Matt Berry first hit TV screens in the brilliant (and affectionate) send up of low-budgeted and over-acted 80’s dramas, Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, in the role of cocky surgeon Dr. Lucien Sanchez.

What followed was the equally memorable role of Dixon Bainbridge in the cult hit The Mighty Boosh, a recurring role on the Dark Place “spin-off” Man To Man with Dean Learner, and the even more cult show Snuff Box, which he co-created and co-starred in with fellow Boosh alum Rich Fulcher.

He’s perhaps best known now for playing the unhinged CEO of Renyholm Industries, Douglas Renholm, in Graham Linehan’s hit sitcom The IT Crowd

What you may not know is that Berry is also a musician, who’s third album – Witchazel – is available on Valentine’s Day. For more information, check out his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/mattberrysmusic

Oh, and you can preview a track from his new album HERE

A small note on this interview – please excuse the less-than-stellar audio quality. I could give you the reasons for it, but they’d most likely only bore you.

Here now is my chat with Matt Berry… Hope you enjoy…

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Download “A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume & Matt Berry“:

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You can also find more of my interviews by clicking HERE.

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Weekend Shopping Guide 2/13/09: 1.21 Gigawatts!

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The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

While it’s not the Blu-Ray editions that everyone (me included) was hoping for, the new special editions of the Back To The Future trilogy are worth a look see. The original Back To The Future (Universal, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP) ports over the special features from the previous release, but also adds the Back To The Future Night network special, a new 9-part documentary, and – best of all – the complete Back To The Future Universal Studios ride footage, including the pre-show. Both Back To The Future II and Back To the Future III (Universal, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP each) contains the behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentaries, deleted scenes, and outtakes contained in the original box-set release. Now, if only we can get the Blu-Ray sorted out…

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I’ve got hundreds and hundreds of slides and negatives from years of pre-digital photo archives. That being the case, I’m always keen on new and easier ways to try and digitize this wealth of images – including a nifty slide/negative scanner that Thinkgeek offered, and I featured a few months back. Well, now they’ve gone and begun offering a newer, spiffier ImageLab Instant Slide Scanner ($109.99) that doesn’t even require a computer to do its job – it’s got a little LCD viewer and store the scans on an SD card. Heck, you can even run it off of batteries, for ultimate mobility. Cool.

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Another catalogue classic making its way to high definition is the director’s cut of Amadeus (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) – which adds 20 minutes to the theatrical cut. The Blu-Ray ports over the audio commentary with director Milos Foreman and Peter Schafer, the making-of documentary, and the theatrical trailer, and adds a bonus CD of Mozart’s music. Regardless of the picture quality (and it is stunning), it’s still a beautiful film.

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Also hitting Blu-Ray is David Cronenberg’s surprisingly accessible A History Of Violence (New Line, Rated R, DVD-$28.99 SRP), starring Viggo Mortenson as a man who’s selfless act calls unwanted attention on himself and a violent past that may or may not be his own.

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Uber-curmudgeon Victor Meldrew returns in the 5th & 6th seasons of the Brit comedy classic One Foot In The Grave (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP each). The 6th season is also the final in the series, save for a few specials that will probably get a separate release. The 2-disc sets feature 6 episodes, an audio commentary apiece, the 1995 Christmas special (on Season 5), and a retrospective featurette (on Season 6).

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It’s not quite as incisive as it could be, but Oliver Stone’s W. (Lionsgate, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.95 SRP) is still a remarkable attempt to understand the 43rd President of The United States. Does he ever get a grasp on just what made George W. Bush what he is? Not really. But the performances are great, and now that he’s finally out of office, maybe someone will eventually get a handle on exactly what’s going on in his head. Bonus features include an audio commentary and a featurette.

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When all hell breaks loose in a small town, are you going to call the police? No. The FBI? No. The military? Of course not! Ninjas? THEY DON’T HAVE PHONES!! No, the person you’re going to call to sort it all out is B-movie legend Bruce Campbell – and that’s just what the small town of Gold Lick does in the fun little goof My Name Is Bruce (Image, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP). Bonus features include an audio commentary, featurettes, a making-of documentary, trailers, and galleries.

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It’s certainly not their finest hour, but I sort of kind of dig the better aspects of Oliver & Company (Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$29.99 SRP) – which is one of the animated films made when Disney was still in the 80’s wilderness. Still, I do love the tunes from Billy Joel (starring here as Dodger) and Huey Lewis. The re-released special edition contains a vintage behind-the-scenes featurette.

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It’s by no means a disaster, but it certainly would have been nice if Bernie Mac’s final film were better. Soul Men (Dimension, Rated R, DVD-$28.95 SRP) stars Mac and Samuel L. Jackson as a par of estranged soul singers who work through their differences on a road trip to a reunion concert at the famed Apollo Theater. Bonus features include an audio commentary, featurettes, tributes to Bernie Mac & Isaac Hayes, and the theatrical trailer.

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The Blu-Ray catalogue express pulls up to the station with another carload full of titles, this time straight from Fox. Getting the high definition treatment are the much-requested Office Space, Napoleon Dynamite, Little Miss Sunshine, and Sideways (Fox, Rated PG/R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP each). All of the bonus features are identical to the standard special edition releases, so you’re really looking at picking these up for the picture and sound upgrade.

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It’s no Pixar, but there’s a simple pleasure to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (Dreamworks, Rated PG, DVD-$34.98 SRP), the sequel to the zoo animals escape to the wild original that was equally mild diversion entertainment. This time – you guessed it – they’ve managed to escape from Madagascar only to crash land in Africa, where hilarity ensues. Bonus features include music videos and featurettes, and it’s definitely worth spending the couple of extra bucks to pick up the set that comes bundled with the penguins adventure The Penguins Of Madagascar. The Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) contains the penguins special, the standard edition’s bonus features, as well as an animators corner with storyboards and interviews.

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There’s nothing especially upsetting or horrific or even interesting about Friday The 13th: The Series (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). Check out up the complete second season of this syndicated anthology snoozer and see if I’m wrong. It barely even succeeds on a cheap laughs level.

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It’s not the best looking CGI animated flick, but my nephew certainly likes the off-kilter tale of Igor (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP), a hunchbacked lab assistant in a country full of evil scientists and lackeys, who decides that he has the knowledge and talent to break out of the caste system. Bonus features include an audio commentary, an alternate opening scene, and galleries. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.

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Long before the lackluster Masters Of Horror, another anthology series sought out horror masters for a slightly better clutch of stories – Tales From The Darkside (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.98 SRP). Executive produced by George Romero, the 3-disc first season set contains all 24 episodes, plus audio commentaries.

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It’s a saccharine, fluffy mess, but I’m sure there will be plenty of sales for the newly-arrived-in-high-definition Pretty Woman (Touchstone, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP). In addition to all of those extra pixels, bonus features include an audio commentary, a trio of featurettes, a Natalie Cole music video, a blooper reel, and the theatrical trailer.

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It can be plodding, but Spike Lee’s Miracle At St. Anna (Touchstone, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) at least tells an interesting tale – about four members of the US Army’s all-black 92nd Infantry Division who, while stationed in Tuscany, Italy, are trapped behind enemy lines and find themselves in a small Tuscan village. Bonus features include a pair of historical featurettes and deleted scenes. A Blu-Ray edition is also available ($34.99 SRP).

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No longer a full season set, fans will have to make do with only the first 19 episodes in Melrose Place: The Fifth Season Volume 1 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). Still no bonus features, though, so that Heather Locklear commentary will just have to come one day.

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If you want a crash course in pretentious cinema, look no further than the world-struck-blind-by-a-plague-and-devolves-into-chaos-but-Julianne-Moore-isn’t-blind Blindness (Miramax, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP). Don’t believe me? By all means, check it out for yourself. Bonus features include a making-of documentary and deleted scenes.

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They may be on the simple side, but that’s exactly what you’d hope when putting on one of the 4 DVDs (comprising 32 episodes) in the Curious George Monkey Collection: Volume 1 (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). Not only did they nail a great design for the character in animated form, but they passed the all-important “my nephews like it” test.

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Shout Factory picks up the ball after Universal walked away following the release of the first season with Simon & Simon: Season Two (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). The 6-disc set features all 22 episodes, plus the special Magnum PI crossover episode.

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We still don’t have the original 60’s series (I want it more than a hula hoop), but we get another Alvin & The Chipmunks themed episode collection, The Mystery Of The Easter Chipmunk (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP), containing 5 episodes from the 80’s series.

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Yeah, I tried. Still don’t like Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (Turner, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). But they have a rabid fanbase that is sure to snap up the complete second season, and delight in its deleted/extended scenes, promos, karaoke videos, tour footage, blooper reel, and more.

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So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…

-Ken Plume

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