Pads & Panels

Title: John Carter

Format: Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Directed by: Andrew Stanton

Written by: Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, Michael Chabon

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Willem Dafoe

Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment

Film Rating:

Blu-ray 3D Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

John Carter may be best known in retrospect as a bad business decision. One that saw a lot of money spent and not nearly as much made. And that comes, I think, primarily from its source material.

John Carter is the kind of fiction that has attained a certain cult status – an incredibly loyal contingent of followers staunchly stand by the Edgar Rice Burroughs sci-fi adventure – but may be entirely unfamiliar to general audiences. And ultimately what happened is a group of those loyal followers pushed to get this made, and the mass audiences just weren’t there.

But that doesn’t necessarily speak to the quality of the film. Financial success doesn’t always speak to quality, of course, but in this case there does seem to be a connection. What John Carter struggles with most is finding, or creating, an identity for itself. By the end of 132 minutes, we’ve all seen a lot of fantastic things but are left caring about very little of it. (more…)

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Title: Pushmo

Platform: 3DS

ESRB: E

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Intelligent Systems

Review By: Eric Stuckart

Rating:

The Nintendo 3DS really didn’t have that great of a launch, did it? With its poor offerings in terms of launch titles, the lack of an online store for the first couple months, among other problems, for a while there, gamers were starting to think that the Big N’s luck has finally run out. Fortunately, these fears are finally starting to appear as unfounded. Despite being slow on the uptake, Nintendo took some opportunities to make amends with their consumer base by cutting the price of the system, giving early adopters a bunch of free games on the eStore, and most importantly, finally releasing some games worth playing.

With that, we have Pushmo, a puzzle game that hits all the sweet spots that any mobile puzzle game should strive for, and it does it with ease. Not only is it the first great title to hit the Nintendo 3DS’ eShop, it’s a great 3DS title in its own right. (more…)

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Title: Fright Night 3D

Format: Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: R

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Written by: Marti Noxon

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Tennant, Toni Collette

Studio: Dreamworks Pictures, Touchstone Entertainment

Film Rating:

3D Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

A remake of Tom Holland’s 1985 “my neighbor may be a vampire” flick, Craig Gillespie’s Fright Night may not be altogether necessary, but that doesn’t stop it from being a heck of a lot of fun. It offers just the right blend of scares, big moments, humor and performances to make it a standout in the genre.

Anton Yelchin (Like Crazy, Terminator Salvation) plays Charley Brewster, a suburban nerd of a teenager who somehow lands the school’s hot blonde Amy (Imogen Poots). Colin Farrell plays neighbor Jerry Dandridge who is quite possibly a vampire whose good looks are catching the attention of Charley’s mom, Jane (Toni Collette). (more…)

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Title: A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Format: Extra Dope Edition Blu-ray + DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: R (Theatrical), Unrated (Extended)

Directed by: Todd Strauss-Schulson

Written by: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg

Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris

Studio: Warner Bros.

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle may have been one of the best surprise standout comedies when it was released in 2004 (not to mention one of the best product tie-ins around), but the series took a sharp dive with the 2008 sequel Harold & Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay, which was nothing short of torture in its own right.

But maybe, just maybe, it was worth enduring to get to 2011’s unexpected sequel, A Very Harold & Kumar (3D) Christmas. While the duo’s Christmas special doesn’t quite find the former glory of the original, it is leaps and bounds better than its predecessor and in theaters it opted to embrace 3D technology fully, finding many of its laughs in jump-out-of-the-screen gags. (more…)

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Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Format: Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

Directed by: Rob Marshall

Written by: Terry Rossio & Ted Elliott

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally

Studio: Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Walt Disney Pictures

Rating:

Review by: Sarah Jones

If there was ever a pirate who could escape any situation, it would be Captain Jack Sparrow. Although he acts silly, Sparrow seems to stumble into the right situations at the right time to find the treasure or escape capture. However, this movie begins with Sparrow in custody by the English. Of course, he escapes and starts on his journey for the Fountain of Youth aboard Captain Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge.

As the new lovely lady in the Pirates’ world, Penelope Cruz features as Blackbeard’s daughter, Angelica, with whom Sparrow once had a romantic relationship with. To add more drama, Blackbeard and crew are not the only ones seeking the fountain. Barbossa, who makes a return from previous movies in the series, and the Spanish are both on the hunt for the fountain for their own reasons. (more…)

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Title: Super Mario 3D Land

Platform: 3DS

ESRB: E

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo

Rating:

Review by: Matt Peters

A Nintendo launch without a Mario game just doesn’t feel right. That may be the reason why the Nintendo 3DS stalled out of the gate. That empty space has now been filled, as Nintendo gives us Super Mario 3D Land. With a few new tricks up his sleeve and his signature hat, Mario’s ready to save the Princess again. Fortunately, this adventure was worth the wait. (more…)

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#6 Saints Row: The Third (360, PS3, PC)

Publisher: THQ—Developer: Volition

The Saints Row series has long been the cartoonish alternative for gamers to the now serious and realistic Grand Theft Auto games. Every mistake GTA IV made, Saints Row: The Third fixes. Everything is over-the-top, from the missions to the weapons and the story. The level of polish elevates it from the previous games in the series. But the best part of Saint’s Row: The Third is jumping into co-op and sharing the chaos with a friend. (more…)

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Disney releases Toy Story trilogy in 3D

By Bill Jones

After Disney’s 3D release of Toy Story 3 in 3D in theaters, Walt Disney Home Video made all three installments of the film franchise available on home video in 3D Blu-ray for the first time. And from the groundbreaking animation of the first film, more than a decade and a half old now, to the gripping final installment, the films look as fantastic as ever. But are they worth the 3D upgrade?

It really depends how much the viewer loves 3D. The packages for all three films are exactly the same releases as the previous Blu-ray packages for them, albeit with an extra 3D feature disc in each. The 3D in each film mostly adds depth to the mix, rather than jump-out-of-the-screen gags, and it looks progressively better with each movie in the series, though much of that is simply based on the progressing animation quality of the Toy Story series. (more…)

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Title: Thor

Directed By: Kenneth Branagh

Written by: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins

Studio: Marvel, Paramount

Rating:

Written By: Thomas Braaksma

Marvel’s Thor has never quite seen the popularity or had such a creative force behind him since the Golden Age of comics with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby at the helm. Though it is safe to say after this year’s theatrical release of Thor, the Norse god might work his way into the hearts of a large number of new and rejuvenated fans. Thor starts off a summer blockbuster season with a bang, and leaves a pretty hard act to follow. (more…)

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Title: Tron Legacy 3D and Tron Blu-ray Collection

Format: Blu-ray 3D

Directed By: Joseph Kosinski

Written By: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde

Studio: Disney

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Thomas Braaksma

The Film

Tron came zooming back into theaters last year with Tron Legacy 3D after a long absence from the world. Disney now releases it upon the small screen with a fully packed 5-disc option. The 5-disc bundle comes with the Blu-ray 3D, Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital Copy, and the re-release of the original classic on Blu-ray. This barrage of discs might at first seem excessive but with the different format options out there today it is a convenient pick up for the Tron lover. (more…)

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