The Film:

The Two-Part Miniseries:

The Movie:

SyFy has brought yet another reimaging of a popular character to the small screen with their Neverland adaptation. This time the hook (pardon the pun) is that the film is a prequel of sorts to what these characters will become. I'm not too familiar with the story, because I've never read the books or seen any of the previous film adaptations, not even Hook.

Neverland starts out easy enough with Peter (Charlie Rowe), as he leads his gang of pickpocket boys all around the city on a thieving spree under the watchful eye of their manager-boss-of-sorts James Hook (Rhys Ifans) who will go on to be the great Captain Hook that we all know and love.

Peter is itching to move on to bigger and better capers, but Hook wants him to slow down and follow his lead. It seems that Hook has been commissioned by a mysterious group to retrieve a special orb of some kind....Read the entire review

The Woman:
Fainting and vomiting at festival screenings can be seen as a hearty endorsement of the latest extreme horror movie. Of course little credence is given to the idea of a keyed-up festival atmosphere exacerbating the effects of a horror movie, nor is there much examination of the effects of binge drinking on horror movie audiences. So when Lucky McKee's latest, the Jack Ketchum written The Woman caused a big ruckus at the Sundance Film Festival, horror aficionados got their BVDs in a bunch for two reasons. They wanted to know if the movie was extreme as all that, or if such hysterical reactions were part of an ill-planned publicity stunt.

The verdict, according to me, your ultimate arbiter, is this: pretty much everyone misread this movie. Extreme and willful though it is, The Woman is no misogynistic evil, it's a blunt and badass horror thrill-ride with equal parts b...Read the entire review

The Tagline:

The Movie:

Note: A year ago, I reviewed a single-disc collection of six episodes of The Garfield Show for DVD Talk entitled Odie-Oh. Vivendi Entertainment, since that time, has periodically released similar one-DVD packages of thematically-linked installments of this CG-animated take on the infamous fat cat from the newspaper comics section, with Dinosaurs & Other Animal Adventures being the latest in the line. Contextual portions of my last review are going to get carried ove...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Director Law Wing-cheong's 2011 thriller Punished, produced by Johnnie To, stars the mighty Anthony Wong as a man named Wong Ho-chiu, a wealthy industrialist type married to his wife (Maggie Cheung), whose wayward daughter, Daisy (Janice Man), has a bit of a drug problem. When Daisy is kidnapped and held for ransom, Wong isn't so sure she hasn't set this up herself in order to extort some drug money out of her old man. Caring more about his reputation than for his daughter's own life, he opts to get the fifty million dollars that the kidnappers have asked for ready so that he can get her back safely and without causing any controversy and heads, alone and without the accompaniment of his bodyguard, Chor (Richie Ren), to meet the kidnappers at the arranged meeting place. Here he gets a call and is told to drive somewhere else with his top down, at which point the drop is m...Read the entire review

The Taglines:

The Movie:

"The Gift of the Magi" is one of the best-known short stories from a famous writer named O. Henry. Popular during the holidays, it tells the story of a young newlywed couple with little money who each sacrifice one of their most prized possessions (a watch for the husband; long hair for the wife) to buy a gift for the other. The story, now more than a century old, is still taught in literature courses, and it regularly appears in contemporary anthologies ...Read the entire review

The Movie:

To his credit, former professional wrestler Steve Austin has grown into an increasing level of comfort since he decided to transition into films, achieving a modest level of success in action films with established stars of the genre, and even appeared in mainstream projects, most recently with The Expendables. Tactical Force is another notch on Austin's cinematic belt, but is he starting to plateau with these things?

The script was written and directed by Adamo Cultraro (Bad Ass), with Austin finding himself cast as Sykes, the head of a four-person tactical S.W.A.T. unit in Los Angeles. The group is also comprised of Hunt (Michael Jai White, Black Dynamite), Jennard (Lexa Doig, Read the entire review

The Miniseries:

The Film:

The Movie:

I'll go out on a limb and say that we all know that big Hollywood studios are generally devoid of new material or ideas, and that they have to lean on other sources of material to shape for North American sensibilities. Sometimes it works, most times, it does not, and there are others that result in different shades of gray. And before Martin Scorsese won a long overdue Oscar for The Departed, in its other incarnation the story had already been realized as Infernal Affairs, a Hong Kong crime thriller that spawned two sequels before filming on The Departed had even begun. Thankfully, now there can be more of a comparison made between an American remake and its international predecessor. So how does Infernal Affairs stack up to it, along with its own merits?

Written by Felix Chong ...Read the entire review

The Taglines:

The Movie:

This week, RHI Entertainment, as it is wont to do, released another made-for-television movie on DVD. Titled Secrets in the Walls, the disc, upon first glance at its cover art, appears to be a recycled SyFy Channel movie (fare that RHI tends to release on home video with great regularity). However, this supernatural 90-minute thriller (clearly timed to allow for roughly 30 minutes of commercials in a 2-hour block of cable programming) falls more in line with the Hallmark or Lifetime Channel, given its emphas...Read the entire review

The Taglines:

The Movie:

Roadkill is the third entry in the Maneater Series to be released by Vivendi Entertainment this year, preceded by Behemoth and Ferocious Planet, both of which I've also reviewed for DVD Talk. Before each of the prior two reviews, I've provided an update on the line - in case anyone out there is a fan of the series. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending upo...Read the entire review

Generic Pre-Review Wrestling Disclaimer: Long before my affinity for globetrotting documentaries, Martin Scorsese films and The Criterion Collection, I found a soft spot for professional wrestling. Don't ask me how this happened; it just did. Despite this declaration, I shower daily, all my teeth are accounted for, I have a college degree...and believe it or not, I have a wife with the same merits. I'm not alone, of course. The wrestling fans I know aren't slack-jawed yokels; they simply appreciate the spectacle and illusion that this genuine ...Read the entire review

1906. Starting with the country's first political assassination in 1901, civil unrest spreads throughout China. An underground movement of citizens known as the United League of China looks to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and bring democracy to the country, with Dr. Sun Wen leading the charge. News spreads that Dr. Wen is making a trip from Tokyo to Hong Kong that could set everything in motion, and a laundry list of corrupt Chinese generals and assassins converge on Hong Kong with the intent of wiping out Dr. Sun before he can communicate with a group of the League's most powerful members, and put an end to the revolution.

Bodyguards and Assasins is an ambitious movie, to be sure; its 140-minute runtime and slow build almost suggest a miniseries rather than a feature film, beginning with "episodes" timed by the days leading up to Sun Wen's arrival and culminating in a massive series of fights a...Read the entire review

The Main Event:

Before Vince MacMahon bought it out and folded it into WWE, the WCW was, for a glorious though very brief period of time, the true home of the superstars. Experienced 'name brand' wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart, Randy 'Macho Man' Savage and Ric Flair made it their home for a while and the league would soon prove a fertile breeding ground for fresh young talent as well what with the likes of Sting and Rey Mysterio Jr., to name only a few, making their names. The leagues showcase was Monday Nitro, a weekly wrestling extravaganza that helped pave the way for the weekly shows fans now tune in to like Smackdown and RAW, and now that the WWE owns the WCW back catalogue, evidently it's time to pay tribute to that late, lamented high point in nationally syndicated sports entertainment.

There's no plot to discuss here, though the one and only Diamond Dall...Read the entire review

The Taglines:

The Movie:

Three months ago, I posted a review for Behemoth, the first entry in the long-running Maneater Series DVD line in over a year. The Maneater Series, for those unfamiliar with it, distributes repurposed SyFy Channel creature features on home video with cover art that bears a border and a series logo. Originally released through Genius Entertainment, the line was punted over to Vivendi Entertainment via RHI Entertainment. ...Read the entire review

Generic Pre-Review Wrestling Disclaimer: Long before my affinity for globetrotting documentaries, Martin Scorsese films and The Criterion Collection, I found a soft spot for professional wrestling. Don't ask me how this happened; it just did. Despite this declaration, I shower daily, all my teeth are accounted for, I have a college degree...and, most importantly, I have a wife with the same merits. I'm not alone, of course. The wrestling fans I know aren't slack-jawed yokels; they simply appreciate the spectacle and illusion that this genuine ...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Regardless of the ups and downs that professional wrestling has endured through the years, the one thing that remains a constant throughout is WrestleMania. The idea behind the event was unique and with the help of a star on his roster (Hulk Hogan) and another from the entertainment field (Mr. T), the first one in 1985 in New York's Madison Square Garden proved to be a sellout and closed-circuit sales were much better than expected. After the second one the following year split over three venues, the third one shot for the moon, attempting to get a respectable box office in Detroit's massive Silverdome.

The head of the World Wrestling Federation Vince McMahon had a nice card to play for such an event, the match between Hogan and the seven-foot tall Andre the Giant. The anticipation built for the match not only gave the event a solid box office showing, it sold out the aren...Read the entire review

The Main Event:

Shawn Michaels and Triple H are both formidable WWE superstars on their own, but when they teamed up as DX, they hit on something that fans really latched onto. There was a real sense of showmanship behind their work together, but so too was there a good sense of humor. Add to that the fact that their long run resulted in some of the best tag team matches the WWE has seen in recent years and it's easy to understand their enduring popularity. It all came to a close when Michaels retired, obviously, but they definitely had a good run together.

The WWE has released a few DX sets prior to this, One Last Stand, a three disc set that plays like a greatest hits of their final run together. If their last few years weren't quite as impressive as the first few and maybe relied too heavily on the whole 'Hornswoggle' gimmick (for the uninitiated, Hornswoggle was the nam...Read the entire review

The Show:

Rarely seen since its original airing in 1978, The UnknownWar is a 20-part documentary that examines WWII from the Russian sideof theconflict. It was a direct response toThe World at War, a ground-braking documentary that the Soviets feltdid nottell the full story of Russia'ssacrifice and valor during the conflict. Soon after the series aired on PBS the USSRinvaded Afghanistanand it was pulled from further circulation and has been hard to seesince thattime. Luckily Shout! Factory hasreleased this interesting series on DVD and war buffs everywhere cansee whatthey've be...Read the entire review

Despite the fact I'm under 30 years of age, I often wish I grew up during television's yesteryear - When there weren't literally hundreds of channels of garbage to choose from, and programs actually had to meet a certain level of excellence if they hoped to survive. When the airing of your favorite show was an event, because missing the latest episode meant it was highly likely you'd never have another opportunity to see it again. When new series were paving the way for the future of all programming by continually pushing the envelope, and exploring real topics that were once considered taboo for television. Such programming may have been before my time, but it doesn't take much imagination for me to fully understand that those were the days... But, thankfully for me, Nick at Night ran reruns of such classics, as did numerous other networks during the day. As a result I becam...Read the entire review

The "last," completely unnecessary season of a masterpiece. Shout! Factory finishes out the run of one of television's greatest sitcoms with All in the Family: The Complete Ninth Season, a three-disc, 23-episode collection covering the iconic series' 1978-1979 final fade-out...before it morphed the following year into Archie Bunker's Place. Largely devoid of the incendiary political and sociological battles that marked previous seasons―comedy that almost single-handedly revolutionized content on modern American television―this ninth season of All in the Family mostly goes for cutes and cuddles, with the Archie character ever-more softened and "evolved." What a pity. Die-hard All in the Family fans will enjoy the addition of the special 90-minute CBS retrospective, hosted by series creator Norman Lear, which probably hasn't aired since its original sh...Read the entire review

The Movies:

Don't have enough Ron Howard in your life? Shout! Factory has the cure for what ails you with this double feature of Howard/Corman collaborations!

Produced by Roger Corman and written/directed by Charles Griffith, Eat My Dust! stars a young Ron Howard as Hoover Niebold, a young man hung up on foxy Darlene Kurtz (former Ivory Snow baby, Christopher Norris). He's so into her that he'll do anything to get her to notice him, even if that means stealing a fast car and taking her for a joy ride in it - which is exactly what he does.

Once Hoover's swiped the ride and picked up the girl, the two are off and soon Hoover's dad, Sheriff Niebold (Warren Kemmerling who shows up as the General in the American cut of Godzilla), is in hot pursuit. A chase all around town ensues, with the cops after Hoover and Hoover going as fast as he can to s...Read the entire review

The Garfield Show: Private-Eye Ventures:
Being of a certain age, I remember well when Garfield didn't even look like Garfield. I'm sure it's easy to find online, but yes, the lazy cat wasn't always so rounded. He's always been no good, however, in the most lovable way, and has always worked best in four-panel format, in which he can deadpan for three panels before finally calling owner Jon an idiot, and tucking into some lasagna. But well over a quarter century later, it becomes clear that still new revenue streams must be discovered, in order to keep the brand fresh. So here we have Garfield's animated adventures.

There has been a movie or two, television specials, and another animated series, but this is my first viewing of the latest, a CGI affair which premiered in France in 2008. These 12-minute episodes really expand in scope, while continuing to hit those themes that Garfield ...Read the entire review

The Taglines:

The Movie:

A year and a week ago, I posted a review for an offbeat genre mash-up called High Plains Invaders. At that time, it seemed that the long-running Maneater Series of repurposed SyFy Channel creature features had run its course. Originally released through Genius Entertainment, the line was punted over to Vivendi Entertainment via RHI Entertainment. In April 2010, no new titles were on th...Read the entire review

The Feature:

Known worldwide as the longest running and most watched annual wrestling event of all time, WrestleMania has basically come to be known as 'the Super Bowl of wrestling' and for good reason - it tends to make or break records for venue attendance and pay-per-view purchases and not only that but it seems that these days, the scripted storylines that run in WWE's RAW and SMACK DOWN lines all lead up to it in some way or another. With all the importance placed on this event, it makes sense that the WWE would focus their sites on documenting the history of the event, and to a very large degree they've succeeded in doing just that with WWE The True Story Of WrestleMania, a two hour documentary that covers the event from its inception through to the modern day.

Moving in chronological order, the feature begins with a look at what the event has become before taking us b...Read the entire review

The Event:

Held on January 30, 2011 in the TD Gardens in Boston, Massachusetts, the WWE Royal Rumble 2011, the 24th time that the WWE has run the event, was one of the best in some time. This pay per view event did a good job of bringing together a few of the key storylines that had been running throughout RAW over the months prior, the biggest one being the rivalry between Randy Orton and The Miz, the latter of whom held the WWE Championship title when this event took place. But let's not jump the gun.

The first match of the night was the Singles Match For The Heavyweight Championship Title in which Edge got into the ring with Dolph Ziggler (with some help from Vicki Gurrero). These two had a rivalry going on for some time before this match took place so there was a good bit of anticipation in the air as to who would walk away with the belt. The ending was a surpri...Read the entire review