Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - (Page 26) REVIEWS www.homemediamagazine.com I CESAR MILLAN: MASTERING LEADERSHIP Street 10/7 Respond2, Special Interest, $49.99 three-DVD set, NR. A nyone who’s ever loved a dog — especially an ornery one — can appreciate Mastering Leadership. Dogs fill our lives with love, companionship, joy and often outright silliness, but they don’t all arrive in our lives with even temperaments. Millan, TV’s “Dog Whisperer,” offers his insights on how to become master of your canine pack. The set is less about training the animals than about training the humans, but most often that’s what is needed. Millan’s point is that humans must accept that dogs behave on instinct, and see how people fit into the canine world. Once people understand that, they have a better chance of getting Scruffy to stop attacking the meter reader or Precious to leave their Manolo Blahniks alone. The set is divided to facilitate that: disc one is “People Training for Dogs;” disc two is “Becoming a Pack Leader;” and disc three is “Your New Dog: First Day and Beyond.” Millan lectures to a small audience situated on comfy-looking sofas and occasionally asks questions that sound scripted. But he isn’t a stiff podium lecturer. He shimmies and shakes in imitation of various dog and human behaviors, and some gestures get on-screen tags the live audience didn’t get. The program also cuts in clips of Millan with the pack at his compound demonstrating behavior, and clips of other dog owners demonstrating mostly bad behavior. The tips are practical and simple to understand. The hardest part for most people will be training themselves to stop relating to their dogs as babies — but that’s the point. Our canine friends also can teach us a surprising amount about human relationships. Some of Millan’s pooch-training advice may also be useful for coping with difficult bosses, roommates and other dog-eatdog human situations. The title is fun and useful for anyone who has or wants a dog. This would be great in a dog-lover’s home library, but should also be a terrific rental for folks with unruly pets or people who want to overcome a fear of dogs. – Holly J. Wagner I DOG GONE Street 10/7 Universal/Screen Media, Comedy, $24.98 DVD, ‘PG’ for some bullying, rude humor, language, mild threat and action. Stars French Stewart, Kevin Farley, Kelly Perine, Luke Benward, Brittany Curran. C learly taking a cue or two from Home Alone — even the box art recalls the iconic Macaulay Culkin hands-to-the-face gape — Dog Gone is about energetic and imaginative but bully-bait young Owen (Bernard), still mourning the death of the family pooch. When he encounters a golden retriever being used as a vessel for a stash of hidden jewels, they bond and take off together, soon followed by a trio of desperate but bumbling thieves (Stewart, Farley and Perine), setting up a hilarious series of slapstick scenarios. To be sure, films aimed at the grade-school set need to appeal to juvenile tastes. At the same time, they also have to take into account and cater to attention spans that might not yet be fully formed. Thus it is far more the rule than it is the exception to have films geared toward kids be loaded with wall- to-wall sight gags, wacky setpieces, break-neck pacing, music video editing and constant ear-splitting noise throughout the soundtrack. The action flows so quickly there is little time to begin to discern whether or not they are any good. Make no mistake: Dog Gone will never be confused for a lugubriously paced cerebral art film. The plot is basic and elementary, the action is fast and furious, and the comedy is broad and childish. But director Mark Stouffer and co-writer Dennis S. Johnson wisely turn down the volume ever so slightly to keep things moving at a brisk clip that never becomes exhausting. Most impor- background, they themselves don’t actually speak. Rather, a narrator PorchLight, Animated, $12.98 DVD, NR. reads the story being acted about by Katakune and his friends. atakune is a computer-genEach vignette ends with a small erated silkworm who acts lesson that 3-year-olds can easily very much like the 2- to grasp. “Don’t be late,” “don’t try to 5-year-old children to whom he do too much,” “sharing is is designed to appeal. Surfun,” and “remember to rounded by friends who recycle” are a few of range from a beetle to a the program’s themes. porcupine, Katakune has Almost as interesting little adventures meant as what is included is to teach toddlers some what is not: There simple life lessons. are no alphabets tantly, they seem to be aiming for an Unlike most toddleror numbers. old-school kids film, much like the geared programs, Katakune Katakune is declassic Disney live-action movies of is an animated storybook. signed to fosthe 1960s and ’70s. Dog Gone will ap- Although the characters all ter social skills peal to the intended audience without move around against rather than academic assaulting them. – David Greenberg a soothingly blank achievement. Katakune’s animation Q U I C K TA K E is infused with bright colors and broad strokes. The program, produced in Chiicrocinema’s Monster Road: Col- films in his basement, and caring for his na, has a pleasant, almost otherworldlector’s Edition ($24.95) offers a father, who is stricken with Alzheimer’s. ly quality: It’s a little like anime for curious glimpse into what drives Director Brett Ingram combines footage the 3-and-younger set. Even though the creative process. The focus is on under- from Bickford’s films with new interviews many of the lessons are posed as ground clay-animator Bruce Bickford, who and family movies to craft a fascinating negative caveats, this is a comforting collaborated with Frank Zappa in the 1970s portrait of an artist constantly clinging to his program for toddlers that includes but now spends his time creating little-seen child-like sense of wonder. – John Latchem some common-sense advice. Street 10/14 I KATAKUNE K ‘Monster’ Mash M – Anne Sherber 26 Home Media Magazine October 5–11, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 Contents News TV DVD Gay/Lesbian Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 29) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 30) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 31) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 32) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 33) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 34) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 35) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 36) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 37) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 38) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 39) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 40) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.