Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - (Page 26) REVIEWS Edited by John Latchem www.homemediamagazine.com the studio by the Anipals, an assortment of puppet characters who don’t have much time for Doug or his lame activities. So in every episode, the Anipals head off on their own adventure to get drunk and get laid while dealing with animal versions of human problems. It’s the epitome of lowbrow, and the crudeness of the puppetry only adds to the effect. Another Anipal, a dog named Xabu, spends all his time on a futile Coyote-Roadrunner-esque attempt to capture his tail, even setting elaborate traps. To pass the time, Doug introduces various sketches that lampoon cartoons and PSAs. One example is “Wonderman,” a parody of the old Max Fleischer Superman serials in which Wonderman uses sodes laced with humor that his powers to find women is at times wildly inapprofor his alter ego. priate, which makes it that Viewers who have a taste much better. for that style of comedy The format parodies a typishould grab this DVD cal children’s show, beginalong with the Best of Trining with host Doug rushing umph the Insult Comic Dog out to a street vendor to buy and SNL: The Best of Saturday TV costumes for that day’s theme (Astronaut Funhouse DVDs and laugh a weekend away. Day, Mexican Day, etc.). Doug is joined in – John Latchem I TV FUNHOUSE Street 7/22 Paramount/Comedy Central, Comedy, $26.99 two-DVD set, NR. Stars Doug Dale. Voices of Robert Smigel, Dino Stamatopoulos, Jon Glaser, Tommy Blacha, David Juskow. W hat kind of twisted, empty soul could conceive of something as sublimely awesome as this? Not surprisingly, it’s Robert Smigel, the genius behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. He co-created Comedy Central’s “TV Funhouse” with Dino Stamatopoulos, who like Smigel was a longtime collaborator on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien.” The show is a spin-off of the “Saturday TV Funhouse” sketches that are pretty much the best part of “Saturday Night Live” these days. The Comedy Central incarnation ran from 2000 to 2001, giving us eight epi- BLU-RAY SPOTLIGHT I BATMAN: THE MOVIE Fox, Action, $39.98 DVD, ‘PG.’ Stars Adam West, Burt Ward, Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Burgess Meredith, Lee Meriwether. I n 1966, Adam West and Burt Ward brought camp to a new level with the “Batman” TV series and this feature film, which pits the Riddler, the Penguin, Catwoman and the Joker against the Dynamic Duo. This high-def 1080p transfer keeps everything from those tights to the obvious plastic sets intact. Blu-ray brings out the original film’s many colors, and colorful characters, with a crisp picture and solid sound (although this film pre-dates Dolby 5.1, so your rear speakers won’t get much of a workout). Audiophiles have the option of watching the film (and reading those “Pows” and “Whacks”), while listening to the isolated musical score track in DTS-HS Master Audio (still with limited discreet rear channel audio) as one of the bonus features. In some ways, cutting out the cheesy dialogue improves the experience. The film comes with two entertaining and informative commentary tracks, one with West and Ward, the other with screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr. Fox has delved into BD features with this title, which is anything but a cheap attempt to capitalize on The Dark Knight’s July 18 theatrical release. There are three interesting featurettes filmed in 1080p (a rarity on BD these days) worth watching. “Batman: A Dynamic Legacy” offers interviews with comic book artists, writers and fans who tell how the series became a pop culture phenomenon; “Caped Crusaders: A Heroes Tribute” focuses on the melodramatic acting style of West and the rest of the cast; and “Gotham City’s Most Wanted” looks at how the filmmakers took inspiration from the comics. Fox also has recycled some extras from the 2001 DVD, all of which are in 480p, including behind-the-scenes featurettes and a tour of the Batmobile. A “Holy Trivia Track, Batman” offers pop-up factoids during the film. Batman: The Movie, holds up well in terms of picture and extras, but the film is probably best enjoyed by those who grew up with it. – John Gaudiosi I BAKUGAN: BATTLE BRAWLERS VOL. 1 Prebook 7/22; Street 8/26 Warner, Anime, $14.98 DVD, NR. “T wo worlds collide” wails the “Bakugan: Battle Brawlers” theme song. Those two worlds must be cartoonland and toy-marketing-ville. The two come together in this anime adventure created by Spin Master, known for their famously recalled Aqua Dots, and Sega Toys, master and creator of Sonic the Hedgehog. One day, cards fell from the sky. Dan and his friends used the cards and marbles to create a game called Bakugan. However, these weren’t just your typical playing/baseball cards. Instead, these pieces have the power to conjure up monsters from an alternate dimension named Vestroia. Dan has quite the gaming monkey on his back, constantly looking to conjure a new Bakugan battle. Players throw down cards like a gauntlet, use the marbles to yield monsters, and it’s on. Needless to say, you could do this too, sans special effects, by purchasing a Starter Pack or one of the many other Bakugan-inspired products. Trying to capitalize on the themes and merchandising of “Pokémon” and “Yu-Gi-Oh,” “Bakugan” isn’t very original or interesting. However, it doesn’t really matter. It will cater to its audience of 8- to 10-year-olds, who will be clamoring for the toy tie-ins. Those interested in the genre probably shouldn’t use this release as a starting point. It only includes the first five episodes of the 26 in season one. The release also doesn’t offer any extra content, teasers, cheats or cards for anyone interested in purchasing tie-ins or finding out how the game actually works. – Rachel Cericola 26 Home Media Magazine July 20–26, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 Contents News TV DVD Commentary Horror/Halloween Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Commentary (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Commentary (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Commentary (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Commentary (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 29) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 30) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 31) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 32) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 33) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 34) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 35) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 36) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 37) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 38) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 39) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 40) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 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.