Ator The Fighting Eagle:
There are plenty of names in the EuroSleaze movie circuit - those movies featuring sex, violence, fantastic themes, and horrible special effects - but there's no name that stands more defiantly for pure, unadulterated crap than good old Aristide Massaccesi, or as we prefer to call him, Joe D'Amato. Yet, not even the name D'Amato can encompass the sweet ineptitude that is Ator, so here, Joe credits himself as David Hills. Full of rambling fun, inane dialog, lame characters, and a complete lack of blood or boobs, this Conan The Barbarian clone will give you a nagging sugar headache.

As a child, Ator witnesses his parents killed by an evil warlord or something. Time chisels Ator into Miles O'Keefe, a big-haired piece of beefcake with a headband and leather boots. Soon enough, Ator runs into his adult stepsister Sunya, leading to this oft-quoted dialog cla...Read the entire review

Denise Austin: Shape Up & Shed Pounds:
Despite popular belief, most of our DVD Talk staff of reviewers is in good shape, many are even in excellent shape. I'm not one of them, and since my other efforts at losing my beer gut have gone by unsuccessfully (maybe I should quit drinking beer ...) I thought this DVD might be my ticket to self respect. Even though this 55-minute workout is touted as a way to "kick-start weight loss," it is Denise Austin who is, in fact, kicking my ass. (OK, I've only done each half of the full workout once, so far, but you get my drift.) Nevertheless, these two "low-impact workouts ... perfect for beginners" are perfectly challenging in all the right ways.

Hopefully from the above you get the idea that I'm not someone who's logged countless hours with varying workout programs. I'm coming from the position of someone who knows virtually nothing about these type...Read the entire review

Ghost Story aka Circle of Fear:
The most difficult television to float is the type of program known as the horror anthology. God love those who try, since they face an uphill battle: there just aren't that many horror fans, most horror fans are tough critics, and the anthology format allows no characters to identify with from episode to episode. In other words, there's very little to keep the viewer coming back. Legendary producer William Castle's Ghost Story aka Circle of Fear (hereafter referred to as Ghost Story for brevity's sake) tried mightily to keep those viewers coming back. It lasted for one season, 23 episodes, from 1972 to '73, and having never seen syndication (to my knowledge) could be looked at as a holy grail for TV horror fans of the right age.This extras-free, 6-disc set does good by Ghost Story in presenting sharp looking transfers that look as solid to...Read the entire review

The Jungle Bunch:
Coincidentally, the wife forced us to watch The Jungle Book last night, even though I had already taken care of our movie-night needs by procuring this copy of The Jungle Bunch, which I thought our daughter might like. Can't say I have high hopes that my offering will compare very favorably to the Disney classic, but then we know the wives are always correct, right? Right?

Personal life aside, it will come as no surprise that the older Disney film is far superior, but as goofy kids' movies go, The Jungle Bunch isn't without its (weird) charms. At just under one-hour in length, the Bunch throws a few warmed-over ideas into the pot, making an improbable stew that looks weird but tastes OK. It starts as what looks like an overly simplified Happy Feet, with a bunch of cute penguins caring for their eggs. If you turn your head briefly, as I di...Read the entire review

The Rape of the Vampire:
Casual Jean Rollin fans will be up to their elbows in WTF dealing with this, the director's first full-length feature. Though containing many of Rollin's themes and obsessions - basically naked vampires - the movie goes so far beyond crackpot that it's almost impossible to dig into for most viewers. Serious scholars, or those suffering from an overdose of cold medication, will find their money's worth in this melodramatic tale of naked vampires. Others might become lost and aggravated.

With plenty of black-and-white ambience and style, Rollin starts on a strong note. Four comely, scantily clad lasses wander around the French countryside, claiming to be vampires. They shuffle slowly through a field, often pausing to genuflect in front of a creepy statue. Soon enough, disbelieving psychiatrist Thomas (Bernard Letrou) and compatriots arrive to settle the girls' hash. B...Read the entire review

Countess Perverse: Original Director's Cut:
At the risk of once again enraging loyal 'Franco-philes' out there, I must again mention that there are few Euro-Sleaze directors out there able to do so little with so much quite like Jess (The Jesus) Franco. This super-slight exploitationer burns up 75 minutes ripe with potential, turning in moments of queasy delirium separated by endless stretches of boredom and plain laziness. There is nudity galore from three leading ladies, and not a heck of a lot else.

Countess Perverse is Franco's take on The Most Dangerous Game, possibly as seen through the eyes of a Portuguese retiree in the midst of a Quaalude haze. Featuring hottentot Alice Arno as the titular, often naked Countess, and her stone-cold freak of a husband, Count Rador, (an effectively creepy Howard Vernon) the movie kind of follows their exploits as they hunt down cuties to...Read the entire review

Peep and the Big Wide World: Star Light, Star Bright:
Peep and the Big Wide World is the newest bit of wry fun from the creative folks at PBS. Surprisingly simple, the show defies this and any other possible negatives by functioning with near perfection. My kindergarten-aged child, a veteran PBS show scholar, might be a little more aged than the target audience, but she loves it. I do too. The thrill may wear off pretty quickly for adults, but I reckon kids will get their money's worth.

Peep, the nominal star of the show, is a newly hatched fuzzy chick, learning about the world from his friends Chirp and Quack (a robin and a duck). Chirp and Quack content themselves easily on lazy days, but something quirky always seems to happen; a chance encounter with another animal, or a problem usually created by Quack. Chirp (who looks a bit like an Angry Bird with legs) and Quack have kooky, o...Read the entire review

Peep and the Big Wide World: Seasons of Adventure:
Peep and the Big Wide World is the latest drollery from the magicians at PBS. Almost painfully simple, the show defies this and any other potential shortcomings by being just about as perfect as it can be. My 6-year-old, who has been corn fed on PBS shows, might be a little older than the target audience, yet she loves it. So do I. While I'm sure the thrill will wear off pretty quickly for me, I bet the kid will get her money's worth.

Peep, the nominal hero of the show, is a newly hatched fuzzy chick, learning about the world from his friends Chirp and Quack (a robin and a duck). Chirp and Quack seem content sitting around enjoying a lazy day, but something always seems to happen; a chance encounter with another friend, or a dilemma brought about by Quack. Chirp (who looks a bit like an Angry Bird with legs) and Quack possess wacky, ...Read the entire review

Demoniacs:
French arthouse horror king Jean Rollin really went off the rails with this 1974 head-scratcher. Not only does the director ignore his standard story, (childlike pair of girls finds enclave of vampires) but he also makes a movie to which you need to pay attention if you want to understand it. (All of his other films are impossible to understand whether you pay attention or not.) Rollin's palette full of style is still in effect, however, and most of his favorite tropes are along for the ride. The Demoniacs, over time, has become rather comic, so if you're in the mood for some campy, sexy, macabre fun - or you're a Rollin fanatic - his creepy girls will give you a run for your money.

Hailed by Video Watchdog honcho Tim Lucas as "a Poe-like study of guilt and revenge" The Demoniacs can undeniably fit into that comparison. A small band of lazy, landlubber pirates lure ...Read the entire review

Requiem For A Vampire:
Sometimes I wonder if French auteur Jean Rollin, as a Euro-Horror icon, wasn't just coasting on the strength of racy lobby cards. I first caught wind of the master through such stills from his 1982 release, The Living Dead Girl. Provocative title? Check! Picture of a hot naked blond woman covered in blood? Check-a-roonie! However, those who are familiar with his work know things aren't exactly as aggressive as Rollin's lobby cards might make you think. You need to have a seriously open mind, probably tons of caffeine, and a dedicated appreciation for cinema with a capitol 'C' if you want to penetrate Rollin's obtuse horrors, including Requiem For a Vampire, which nicely features much of Rollin's kinky quirks and quixotic work.

So, have you got your art-house hats on? Popcorn with nutritional yeast and balsamic vinegar? Then let's begin. Requiem - ...Read the entire review

The Story of Rock 'N' Roll Comics:
It's hard to know if this documentary is a full-blown case of First Amendment (In)Justice ala The People Versus Larry Flynt or just a fairly interesting story for a limited group of people. The subject of the story, Todd Loren - publisher of Rock and Roll and Revolution Comics - would have you believe the former, even if in action it seems like Loren himself chose to ride the truth train for convenience only. In which case, director Ilko Davidov should have been advised to take his own stand with this movie - to come out swinging either for, or against, Todd. It's advice he seems to have cautiously hedged against. This fundamental lack of mooring, combined with a super-specific, limited market of interested viewers, means that many of you who think you're interested now will wonder later if you're still as engaged.

Detroit-born Loren started his min...Read the entire review

The Fields:
The Fields is one weird film. I give all credit to writer B Harrison Smith and directors Tom Mattera and David Mazzoni for putting this together. Everyone gets props for coming up with something as odd as a gothic suspense movie headlining Cloris Leachman and Tara Reid. The former, a name you don't often associate with genre movies, and the latter, a name that doesn't seem to have been involved in movies much at all lately. This movie however, based on actual events, is the place where subtlety and flat-out weirdness meet in a decrepit farmhouse.

When his parents can't stop pointing guns at each other in the summer of 1973, eight-year-old Steven (Joshua Ormond) finds himself living with his wacky parents in the middle of a Pennsylvania cornfield. Steven's obsessive fear of the Manson clan combines with his demented grandmother Leachman's predilection for horror movies, (a...Read the entire review

Fantasy Island:
Kids today can't understand how horrible we had it in the 1980s. I was born in 1969, which means the thing to do as an eight-through-thirteen-year-old - five years, but a lifetime - the thing to do was plop down on the couch with mom every Saturday night to watch the likes of Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. The scariest thing is how much we enjoyed it. Mr. Roarke and Tattoo, your gentle hosts on Fantasy Island were gods to us. (OK, maybe not Tattoo, R.I.P.) Their variety show wish fulfillment gig was an endless balm for the abrasions of life. Does that wholly satisfactory formula work now, in the cruel Teens of the 21st Century? Does it even matter?

It matters to Generation X folks, who inherited, or were at least subjected to their parents' addiction to the stars of Yesteryear. Maybe it's not all that strange, considering the success of Dancing Wi...Read the entire review

London In The Raw/ Primitive London Double Feature:
London In The Raw
Mondo Movie enthusiasts will find little to be enamored of as they dive down to the bottom of the barrel with this documentary. Purporting to show the seamy underbelly of London in the swinging sixties, this 80-minutes of mostly recreated flotsam might have been somewhat shocking to yokels from way back when, but said yokels would have to be pretty damn sheltered to get their kicks watching zippy dorks singing songs of political satire in nightclubs.

With dour narration, we delve into those unsavory places (or: unsavoury, if you will) where adults like to have fun. But first, we must contend with pointed commentary on life in contemporary London, involving such outr incidents as kids in uniforms going to school. Further explaining the vagaries of life in the big city, video of a weird old bum playing a p...Read the entire review

Gums:
[Editor Interface: enter review Stealth Mode styletype ="they must not know"
Begin Transmission] Gums is a whacked out parody of Jaws involving a strange carnivorous mermaid, who, on her raids of a small coastal town, kills the gentlemen while sending them off to their watery graves with smiles on their faces. Aside from loosely following the plot of the aforementioned toothy blockbuster, the short feature (at 66-minutes certainly truncated, as well as enthusiastically censored) makes almost no sense at all. Providing a smattering of fitful laughs, and maybe rerouting blood flow away from your brain, Gums pays modest rewards mostly to those interested in finally seeing every last weird-beard movie ever made. It helps if you like S E X, too, though sadly this is neither the place, nor release, to really get into all of that.

While movies like A Serbian FilmRead the entire review

Hidden:
Now I'm calling it the DVD cover sweepstakes. My guess is a team of graphic designers and money-men get together to design the most generic horror DVD covers possible, in order to dupe the greatest number of viewers into taking a chance on a movie constructed after the fact, loosely relating to the cover. In this case, they cleverly picked up on the fact that the only scary image you can find online anymore is someone's face with the eyes blacked out and the mouth stretched to look all evil.

That's a real bad news set-up for horror movie watching enjoyment, but in the case of Hidden it's a (mild) good news/ bad news scenario, with the bad news continually beating the good news into a pulp. I need only look at my notes to sum up the bad news: out of 100 words, the word 'stupid' appears eight times, or about once every sentence. On a positive note, such stupidity earns modest a...Read the entire review

Eight Is Enough: The Complete First Season:
Actor Adam Rich was one year older than me when the massively popular family dramedy Eight Is Enough premiered in 1977. On this show, which for five short years formed my entire understanding of life, Rich, as little Nicholas, was the closest thing to an avatar available for boys my age. As such, I learned my role in life was to contribute a little comedy relief, wander around sadly alone while constantly making my own lonely meals in the kitchen, and to have adorable hair. I guess that's a metaphor for the show itself, which presents a potent blend of idealized realism, comedy, and topical drama that holds up remarkably well today.

Dick Van Patten plays Tom Bradford, one of many in a long line of lovable-but-firm patriarchs to grace American TV over the years. Editorialist for a Sacramento newspaper, Bradford is in over his head with eight...Read the entire review

Wound:
Breaking Glass Pictures does a bang-up job lately of finding low budget, indie horror that pushes the envelope off the mail truck and straight into the gutter. And yes, this is a good thing. Take this recent release, (please) which starts out with a real eye-opening scene. Though graphic in the extreme, these opening moments are so giddily over-the-top they put you in the mood for bloody fun. Of course, that's when writer/director David Blyth begins turning the screws: the screws that are boring holes into your skull.

If you read the back of the box, you'll get more of a line on the plot than I did originally reviewing a screener with no packaging. However, you might not want to do that, as getting there is half the fun in this highly disturbing, hypnotic psycho horror show. All the good bad stuff is there, supernatural elements, abusive family dynamics, bondage-domination/sadomasoch...Read the entire review

The Jettisoundz Promo Years:
I keep picking up these discs that I feel I'm not qualified to review. It's the same problem I have when I sing Karaoke, picking songs I have no business trying to sing. In both cases it's like I've got something to prove, which I hope to cover - barely - by saying I picked up this disc for a video by The Jazz Butcher. Liking The Jazz Butcher ought to be enough to get me over in reviewing this massive selection of songs, right? (It's over-three-hours-worth of music videos - considered in retrospect as 'promos' by Jettisoundz production company impresario John Bentham.) Covering the ragged edges of Independent Music in the 1980s, The Promo Years features 50 shaggy videos from obscure bands. It's a dizzying trip in time that will have you laughing and crying as you do the move with the quirky jerk.

No, The Cars aren't on this comp. Here's the list of artist...Read the entire review

Clown Hunt:
There's a fine line between "too good to be true," and "I should have known better." While neither one is what directors, actors or fans want to read about their movie, I'm going to go ahead and put the blame on me. Why, oh why did I think a movie called Clown Hunt, about roving gangs of cannibalistic clowns and the drunken rednecks who hunt them, would be any good? It's written in garbled syntax right there on the DVD case: "Clowns, they're not just for laughing anymore." Sadly, neither is this movie, though in case you're wondering, we're talking about both laughing with and laughing at.

From the otherwise fairly inspired packaging on down, we're the ones getting seltzer in the face, as the box claims a 90-minute movie, while in reality we get an overlong 72-minute feature (with credits) and maybe 18-minutes worth of extras (which consists of a one-minute-long sl...Read the entire review

Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous:
I feel like I'm really out of my depth reviewing this Marvel Knights Animation release, Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous. My pathetic cred involves being heavily into the X-Men during Dave Cockrum's reign in the 1980s, (and then delving back into the heady days of Dark Phoenix) while also enjoying Joss Whedon's Firefly. That's probably not enough. At any rate, this one-hour-plus delivery of misunderstood superhero goodness comes in the form of six 12-minute episodes penned by Whedon and illustrated by John Cassaday. It's a motion comic, meaning it eliminates the need to be literate, while skirting the issues involved with full-scale animation. That said, if you're an X-Men fan, this is a perfectly enjoyable way to kill an hour on the couch.

Motion comics take illustrations - presumably from a comic book, but what do I know - and minimally animate them...Read the entire review

Ministry Fix:
Ministry clings to the top of the heap of Industrial Rock bands, purveyors of that type of music that's mechanical, often lightning-fast, full of rage, and full of textures best described as grating. Lead singer Alien Jourgensen has been pushing his metal machine through the paces since the late 1980s, when, in a fit of enraged prescience, he switched the band's focus from synth-pop to grinding aggression. For those in the know, the rest is history. But even for those in the know, they probably haven't been privy to this kind of history, a thoroughly encompassing tour diary that "shoves your ass way, way backstage with the scariest band ever." Ministry fans, prepare to have your minds blown.

"Are you sure Al wants this out?" asks Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. It's a good question since this is a movie that lays everything out on the table in fits of openness that seem deli...Read the entire review

Bane:
Bane is one whacked-out, overlong low-budget horror movie that works and strains mightily over the course of 105 minutes. You might even say it works too hard. Further complicated by a weird message and a pair of late twists, the movie struggles to find its niche, while a bunch of teeth-gritting performances stretch nerves to the breaking point. It's an odd experiment that does a lot with a little, but as that 'a lot' becomes 'too much', viewers will wonder if writer/director James Eaves shouldn't have pulled back a little bit.

Budget sets - pretty much limited to industrial animal cages draped in plastic sheeting - greet four women who have been captured and drugged by mysterious masked types in surgical outfits. Our heroines suffer from amnesia, getting little to no information from their captors, who hook them up to brain monitors while grilling them with inane questions. On...Read the entire review

420 Triple Feature:
Drug Scare films have long been a source of pleasure for those into mocking the establishment, (ahem) with the advent of home video meaning most of us are pretty familiar with their goofy charms. Comes now Apprehensive Films with this short collection of educational featurettes designed to - if not scare you away from marijuana, at least make sure you're crushingly bored by it. Boredom is but one of two major flaws in this DVD package, which is suitable only for serious camp completists.

Flaw number two is a simple one; you can't call this a triple feature, since all three short subjects combined barely total 60 minutes in length. That's less than one feature, let alone three, but maybe they were hoping you stoners wouldn't notice that. So, let's get on with it, shall we?

Keep Off The Grass from 1969, at 20 minutes length, is the most entertaining and energetic ...Read the entire review

Left & Loose in The Lot:
Even with the internationally famous comedy duo Cheech and Chong forming the mighty trunk of this family tree, the Pot-Com is a movie genre in pretty short supply. Sure, you can argue with me, but just step into your local rental store (if such things still exist) and ask for some Rom-Com recommendations, wait for a half hour as the clerk rattles off a list, then ask for some Pot-Com recommendations. You'll get a list of about nine titles. But now you can add to that list Left & Loose in The Lot, a movie about a hapless pair of security guards with a little bit too much love for the herb. Whether you have much love for this movie might depend on your relationship with that same plant, but even garden-variety squares will find plenty of laughs in this middle of the road Pot-Com. (If the cops come knocking, just don't answer the door!)

Left (Demetrius D...Read the entire review

Pound Puppies:
If you want to join me for another trip down 'I'm Losing It Lane,' I'd be more than obliged. This quaint thoroughfare runs through the neighborhood where my middle-aged male self wants to argue the superiority of the new HUB series Pound Puppies over the pink 900LB gorilla known as My Little Pony. It's all just a matter of subjective taste, of course, but this sit-com quality cartoon packed with cute, idiosyncratic puppies and great voice talent is an actual pleasure to sit down and watch with the kids!

Based on another popular family of kids toys from the 1980s, this incarnation of the Pound Puppies is poised to do much better than its 'made in China' forebears. Whereas My Little Pony as a brand has basically lived forever and launched its own universe of everything, the puppies were just stuffed animals that managed to eke out a shabby, short-lived '80s...Read the entire review

Where The Dead Go To Die:
"Wellllll doggies!" As Uncle Jed used to say. I'm pretty much speechless after watching Where The Dead Go To Die. I'm comfortable in saying it's beside the point to assess this movie in terms of others of its type. I don't think there's any good or bad, just levels of effectiveness. This is animation of transgression, which effectively sends you into a mesmerizing vision of hell. As an almost thoroughly jaded fan of extreme cinema, I can tell you this one threw me for a loop. Whenever you're in the mood for something extremely disturbing, far beyond what you think you can handle, well ...

It's best not to know too much when going into this movie. At least it worked for me, since this was the reviewer's equivalent of a blind buy. I knew ...Read the entire review

Camel Spiders:
The movie-factory known as Roger Corman Presents is in fine form with this schlock-tastic monster movie. Fast-paced and stupid-as-hell, this is a creature feature that won't challenge you on any level. You want big bugs? You got 'em! You want meaningless plot machinations that get you from point A (giant bug is about to get me) to point B (careful, that bug is about to jump on your face!) You got that too! Camel Spiders practically pops your popcorn for you, so slap your nickel down for one admission to good old fashioned B-movie fun.

Corman has never left the realm of B-movies, but over the last few years he's been backing ever-more silly monster-combo movies anchored by leaden performances from D-listers like Lorenzo Lamas and Deborah Gibson. (He should just let the SuperDinoCroctopus eat itself and get it over with.) I guess now he hopes to take a bite out of the 'M...Read the entire review

Ocean Giants:
You cetacean lovers out there are in for a treat with this three-hour look at whales and dolphins lovingly assembled by the good folks working for BBC Earth and PBS's Nature programming. It's a gorgeous grouping of deceptively softball information, that might lead you towards more investigation or simply impart an exultant feeling about Earth's wonders. Either way, it's a winner.

Comprised of three hour-long Nature programs, Ocean Giants bounces along with charming and intrepid underwater cameramen Doug Allan and Didier Noirot as they capture plenty of breathtaking footage that will not only floor you, it also astounds the cameramen as they capture it. Each program deals with certain aspects of these creatures' lives. Included are Giant Lives, Deep Thinkers, and Voices Of The Sea. Switching back and forth between different types of dolphins ...Read the entire review

The Hills Have Eyes Part II:
Wes Craven's barely-warranted, dorky cash grab sequel to his semi-classic original The Hills Have Eyes staggered pathetically into theaters almost a decade after the first. It's not a horrible movie, packing a good deal of stupid action and beautiful scenery into 90 minutes. What's horrible is that all the action in the first 30 minutes comes in flashback form, so what you're getting is about an hour's-worth of new material - more action adventure than horror movie - and a bunch of scenes reminding you of a far superior movie.

Featuring the ever-familiar group of plucky young adults stranded in the evil wilderness, Hills II sets up with those kids (including survivors from the first film) rushing to enter the world's least environmentally friendly bike race around. Forgetting to set their clocks forward an hour for Daylight Saving Time (at least i...Read the entire review

The Burning Moon:
Ahh, Olaf Ittenbach, what is there to say about the German Auteur that hasn't already been written once or twice in some Finnish Blog about extreme cinema? Actually Ittenbach is much more celebrated than that - in the proper circles, that is. The German verspritzenkind (splatter kid) literally exploded onto the scene of SOV bloodshed in 1992 with The Burning Moon, a gore movie of epic proportions. Long out of print in its original, obscure VHS release, The Burning Moon now comes to us in a fine DVD from radically retro Intervision Picture Corp, and if you haven't yet, you can see what all the bloody fuss is about.

Disturbing DVD art in a fine, clear keepcase features the tagline, "Uncut. Uncensored. Unconscionable." Zack Carlson calls the movie "an anti-human masterpiece". While it's not exactly all that, it is filthy-gory and plenty of fun for those o...Read the entire review

Immortals:
Director Tarsem's high concept sword-and-sandal epic leaves it all on the screen. Filled to the brim with CGI, Immortals goes the Zack Snyder route, bolstering nearly every frame with stylized imagery that's not really there. Though a bit slow to start, Immortals should please viewers raised on things like the original Clash Of The Titans, viewers looking for a little class added to their special effects bonanzas.

Springing from Greek Mythology, Immortals concocts the tale of Hyperion, (Mickey Rourke) a bloodthirsty warrior king of immense worldly power. Hyperion seeks the Epirus Bow, a magical weapon which will help him conquer all of Greece and free the Titans, godlike beings imprisoned by the Olympians. The Olympians, if you don't know, are your garden-variety Greek Gods like Zeus and Poseidon. Though bound by Zeus (an impressive Luke Evans) to stay...Read the entire review

Zone Troopers:
These Manufactured On Demand Discs often serve the purpose of getting films out to the fans, films that wouldn't ordinarily merit a traditional DVD release. Such is not the case with MGM's M.O.D. Disc for Zone Troopers, a silly, forgotten VHS placeholder on the shelves of countless Mom 'n' Pop Video Stores. Though low-budget, goofy, and possibly tragically misguided, Zone Troopers represents a type of fun, sincere filmmaking that genre aficionados are obligated to appreciate if they check their attitudes at the door.

As a curious blend of World War II melodrama and alien sci-fi adventure, Zone Troopers would seem to be divisive enough to turn off both potential groups of fans. Writer/director Danny Bilson and co-scribe Paul De Meo may have been off their rockers when they concocted this mixture which doesn't exactly cow-tow to sci-fi fans, (who were wallo...Read the entire review

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - The Friendship Express
You may have heard of the 'Bronies' recently, adult males who are fans of the latest televised My Little Pony incarnation. Based on a popular series of toys by Hasbro, the My Little Pony clan first came to TV in the early 1980s, and every few years after that, in increasingly stylized versions. (The toys also have mimicked this metamorphosis; whether the toy designs now lead the TV show or vice versa is immaterial - it's a faddish empire that's lasted longer than most, due to adaptability. Kind of like Madonna.) But I digress. If you're curious as to what the ponies are flinging in the second decade of the 21st century, and why (maybe) the Bronies are so into it, this 5-episode DVD could be a good place to start.

Sporting new, simplified designs (Ponies meet Power Puff Girls maybe) and sassier attitudes, the p...Read the entire review

Storage Wars Volume 2:
My friends, I want to tell you we've reached such a screen-enabled level of disconnect from our own lives that a person can name any job, type of relationship, or aspect of life, and it will sound like a good reality show. But before those shows get made, we have to wade through every variation on already established motifs, which is where Storage Wars comes in. Zeroing in on a highly specific realm within the world of auctions, Storage Wars represents an amalgam of Antiques Roadshow and Pawn Stars, as it follows a small, repeating cast of second-hand dealers who get much of their merchandise when abandoned storage lockers are auctioned off to the highest bidder. It's a concept that sounds intriguing, becomes rote within mere minutes, then morphs into another evilly addictive way to detach from our own lives.

Each 21-minute episode (there a...Read the entire review