Sleeping Beauty DVD Review

November 20, 2008

In 1959, Walt Disney continued to evolve the medium of animation by releasing Sleeping Beauty, one of the most technologically sophisticated animated features to date. For the first time ever, he was making a cartoon for the 70mm format instead of the usual 35mm. Walt dubbed the process Technorama70. The film itself was bigger, which meant that the animation had to be bigger. There was more detail and more depth within every single frame and the results were amazing. Costing six millions dollars and taking six years to complete, audiences were treated to something truly special. Finally, almost fifty years later, the Walt Disney Studios has released a version of the film encompassing the scope of that original release.

Unless you saw that original theatrical release, you have never seen Sleeping Beauty like this. They have transferred every detail from every frame of that 70mm print, enabling us to see the full picture as originally intended. When making the movie, Walt envisioned a “moving illustration.” He wanted every individual frame to be a perfect image worthy of hanging on the wall.

There are several documentaries on this DVD providing fascinating insight into how Walt achieved this. These include a look into a brilliant color stylist named Eyvind Earle who provided the elaborate backgrounds for the film. There is also a 43 minute documentary that covers all aspects of the production. Combining current interviews with footage shot back in the fifties, this is a must-see for animation buffs. Other documentaries include a look into the year-long creation of the forest sequence which they dubbed “Sequence 8.” Also included is a virtual tour of the original Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough Attraction at Disneyland, a nostalgic thrill for Disneyland junkies like myself.

Just as compelling are the programs included from back during Sleeping Beauty’s initial release. These include an episode of the Disneyland television program entitled “The Peter Tchaikovsky Story.” Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty was inspired by the score from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty ballet, and this episode of Disneyland recreates the life of Tchaikovsky and how he ended up writing this masterpiece. Walt himself hosts the show, and when it ends he gives audiences the first ever look at Widescreen in their own homes. From a historical perspective, it is a fascinating program.

Also included are several deleted songs, the Academy Award winning short Grand Canyon, Storyboards, Art Galleries, and much more. Whether picking up the DVD for the movie or the bonus features, this is a must-own for any fan of Disney animation.

The Color Purple

SoCalThrills Staff

November 20, 2008

Most literary works never reach a wide audience, but American author Alice Walker’s 1982 novel The Color Purple has managed to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 and consistently ranks among the most reread books in the country, been adapted into an Oscar nominated movie directed by Steven Spielberg in 1985, and now lavishly transposed into a successful $10 million dollar Broadway musical.

The show’s initial buzz may have been the drawing power of Oprah Winfrey, who starred in Spielberg’s film version and is now a producer of the theatrical version, but it is clearly the timeless story passionately sung and acted that has earned audience’s approval and given the show 11 Tony nominations for best musical and best performance by a leading actress, among others.

Spanning over 40 years from 1909 to 1949, this epic of a story is all about the struggles of a rural Georgia girl named Celie. The show opens on her at the age of 14, pregnant for the second time by way of her father, playing a clapping game with her sister Nettie. After giving birth again, her father takes it away to get rid of it “same as the last one.”

When a local farmer named Mister takes an interest in her sister Nettie, her father offers Celie to him instead. Despite calling her “the ugly one,” Mister takes her home and put her to hard work caring for his unruly kids. Nettie eventually comes to visit, but after rejecting some advances by Mister, he throws her off his property and vows that the two sisters will never see each other again. Nettie promises to write, though Celie never receives a letter.

In 1919, Mister’s son Harpo marries a woman named Sofia. This is the first of two strong-willed women in her life. Celie watches Sofia stand up to Mister and becomes entranced by her willpower. Still, after years of conditioning, when Harpo asks Celie how he can get Sofia to obey like she does to Mister, Celie advises him to “beat her.” When he tries, Sofia beats him and leaves.

In 1922, with Sofia gone, Harpo turns his home into a juke joint. He is able to lure his father’s former girlfriend Shug Avery to be the headliner. Staying at their home, Shug helps Celie find inner beauty through her strength of character. Together they discover hidden letters written by Nettie and discover some surprising revelations about Celie’s children.

In 1937, while at an Easter gathering, Shug tells a bitter Celie to find simple joy in everyday life around her. This is where the story’s title derives from, when Shug tells Celie, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” They have a discussion that starts rekindling Celie’s faith despite her years of abuse. For the first time, Celie stands up to Mister and tells him she is leaving him for good. The rest of the story will be revealed when you attend the show, but know that in the end, Celie has found her own voice.

The film version faced criticism for portraying black men one-dimensionally as only abusive, uncaring and disloyal. The musical is closer to the novel in showing the men in their full dimension. Marsha Norman, who wrote the musical’s libretto, says the men are depicted “in their strength and their glory, as well as in their oppression and anger.” The story resonates with a wide audience beyond just African-Americans because it hits at central themes that are cross-racial like faith, endurance, redemption, and sisterhood. Even though the story is dark, it is also uplifting.

It took producer Scott Sanders eight years to bring this musical to reality. He took a calculated chance by hiring pop songwriters Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, whose eclectic score is their first theater work. The show’s witty lyrics and music is a combination of blues, gospel, spiritual, and jazz. Lots of songs offer humor such as “Shug Avery’s Coming to Town” that show the town men admiring and their ladies disapproving, “Hell No” is a humorous anthem of independence by Sophia, and some church ladies sing a gossipy tune throughout. “Push Da Button” has a sensual Shug driving Harpo’s club absolutely wild. A sequence in Africa has some rhythmic tribal variations. Though lacking some memorably catchy songs, the music is upbeat, joyful and had the audience clapping along.

The film version contained one tour de force performance after another with Whoopi Goldberg in the leading role of Celie and the film debut of Oprah as her daughter-in-law Sofia. This broadway musical features amazing performances too. Angela Robinson has such sexy presence in the role of Shug. Rufus Bonds in the role of Mister is capable of appearing both vicious to Celie, yet helpless before Shug. Felicia P. Fields was a joy to watch as she recreated her Broadway role as the feisty and uproariously funny Sohpia. The stand-out of course is Jeannette Bayardelle recreating her Broadway role of Celie. Her facial expressions make us believe she begins this journey as an innocent 14 year old girl and is able to endure her way though pain, bitterness, first love, and more to find her true inner power as a woman. All the singers sounded great and a male dance ensemble were entertaining to watch.

Walker’s novel is told through Celie’s hand-written letters to God. Upon entering the theater, the stage is hidden by a giant letter that depicts the first words of the novel, “Dear God, I am fourteen years old. I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me.” This musical invites all of us to observe what is happening to Celie and find hope in how her strength through life’s hardships can be an encouragement to all of us, especially to today’s theater patrons possibly facing tough times in their own lives. The Color Purple stands out in a musical field and as Shug might say, God would be pissed if you failed to stop and notice it.

The Color Purple is performing November 18-30 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $28.50 – $88.50.

BOLT Movie Review

SoCalThrills Staff

November 20, 2008

Bolt is an animated combination of the live-action Homeward Bound and Underdog movies with some Bowfinger elements as well. This dog was raised on a Hollywood television set by his person Penny (Miley Cyrus). The show’s director (played over-the-top by Inside The Actor Studio’s James Lipton) believes the cameras will capture more realism from Bolt if he believes his canine superpowers are real. The studio goes to great technical lengths to secretively convince Bolt that he really has a forceful super-bark, incredible strength, and laser bolts that shoot from his eyes.

Bolt must face harsh reality when he is accidentally shipped across the United States in a box. He quickly realizes that his superpowers are gone, something he explains away as being a side-effect of evil styrofoam peanuts. Anxious to get home to make sure his person Penny is safe, he listens to some humorous New York pigeons who direct Bolt to a local alley cat named Mittens, a jaded former housecat whom they claim knows the way to where Penny is being held captive, something he believes since cats are evil characters on his TV show. They both embark on a cross-country trip to Hollywood.

Experiencing hunger for his first time, Bolt learns how to beg for food at a mobile home park. It’s here that they meet Rhino, a pint-sized hamster who is an obsessed fan of Bolt’s TV show and believes in Bolt. The three of them overcome various obstacles on their journey back home, but for Bolt, the journey becomes one of self-discovery as he learns to accept reality and embrace what it means to be a real dog.

The voice work by John Travolta brought a tough, yet sweet quality to Bolt’s character. The rising superstar Miley Cyrus helped make Penny a believable girl. Both Travolta and Cyrus sing an inspired duet called “I Thought I Lost You.” The best breakout success story from this production is the voice work by long-time Disney animator Mark Walton, who lent his voice to the hamster Rhino early on in pre-production. He said “it was generally assumed that, at some point, they would choose a professional actor to record the final voice, but about a year went by, and my voice stayed in screening after screening.” Mark’s voice contained humongous energy for such a small hamster.

“Along with the humor, you have to have heart,” says John Lasseter, who oversaw Bolt as his first production in his new role of Executive Producer of Walt Disney Animation. This film nearly approaches the pedigree of the Pixar library with humor that flows out of the personalities of the characters that is funny to both children as well as adults alike. It also contains the emotional connection Pixar is known for. This dog feels pain, hunger, and loneliness for the first time and then manages to learn that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero and have purpose in life. This is the first Disney animated feature conceived for 3D and it makes appropriate uses of the medium. The film is a vast improvement in animation and storytelling for Disney Animation and a welcomed addition to the Disney canon.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull DVD Review

SoCalThrills Staff

November 20, 2008

In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Steven Spielberg sent Indy riding off into the sunset as a perfect ending to the trilogy. And in watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull it becomes very obvious that this is where Spielberg wanted Indy to stay. He even admits to this in one of the interviews found on the Crystal Skull DVD. He had no intention of ever making this movie, but the constant pressure from fans and even George Lucas finally had him accepting the inevitable. Indiana Jones was going on another adventure.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad movie. In fact, it’s thoroughly entertaining and as technically impressive as you’d expect. It’s just very by the numbers. Indy lumbers his way from one set-piece to the next, and while these moments are mostly pretty exciting they don’t all do a whole lot to enhance the story.

While the original films were firmly grounded in the serialized storytelling of the 30’s, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg decided to place this one in the intentionally campy B-Movie world of the 50’s. It’s an interesting choice, and one that definitely divided the fans. Personally I found it kind of interesting, but I can understand why people took issue with certain elements of the story (I’m trying to avoid giving specifics, but once you see the movie you’ll know exactly what I’m referring to).

In creating this world, Spielberg’s team was in top form. During production, we were promised minimal CGI, and almost all practical effects-work. And while there is more CGI than we were led to believe, the practical work is amazing. Beautifully detailed on a huge scale, these are some of the most impressive sets I’ve ever seen.

The DVD contains a riveting “Production Diary” which documents the day-to-day shooting of the entire film. It’s a real treat to watch Spielberg at work. We see what went into making every set, the big stunts, the big effects, etc. Personally, I found the making of the film more fun than the film itself.

There are also the usual Pre-Visualization sequences, art and photo galleries, mini-documentaries on various subjects, etc. It won’t be remembered as fondly as the others, but it’s still an Indian Jones movie, and it holds its own as one. All in all, it’s a solid package definitely worth owning if you’re a fan and worth at least a rental if you’re not.

Two Cast Members Honored as 2009 Disneyland Resort Ambassadors

SoCalThrills Staff

November 20, 2008

Before an audience of more than 1,000 Cast Members, media and former Ambassadors, Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier announced the 2009 Disneyland Resort Ambassador Team at Disneyland today. Cast Members Danielle DuBois and Quinn Shurian will serve as the 44th team to represent the resort and its Cast as the 2009 Disneyland Resort Ambassadors.

“Being chosen to represent 20,000 Disneyland Resort Cast Members is an incredible honor and one of the highest achievements of a Disney Cast Member. This program is a unique and important part of our company’s heritage,” said Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier. “These two Cast Members will take the magic and good will of Disneyland throughout our community and beyond in the coming year.”

The prestigious honor of being selected as a Disney Ambassador began during the 10th anniversary of Disneyland, when Walt Disney realized the need for an additional representative to help fulfill the many media, public appearance and VIP hosting requests he received. He selected the very first Ambassador in 1965 and the tradition has continued ever since.

Today, the Ambassador selection process involves months of preparation and interviews with fellow Cast Members and executives where candidates have the opportunity to demonstrate the depth of their Disney knowledge and their passion about being a Disney Cast Member.

The new Ambassador team will represent the company during the recently announced “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign. The celebration runs through 2009 and invites all guests to mark their special occasions at a Disney park in a way only Disney can provide. Their full-time duties include participating in more than 200 events from – Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2009 – including Cast Member recognition ceremonies, grand openings, marketing events, special promotions and media interviews. They will also host dignitaries and other VIPs at Disneyland Resort.

In 2006, DuBois began her career at the Disneyland Resort as a lead and trainer in the imaging department. Prior to that, DuBois lived in Yokohama, Japan and served as an English teacher to students that ranged in age from 3 to 80 years old. After attending California State University, Chico, where she received a degree in communication design, DuBois participated in the Up With People Worldsmart program – an international community service youth group. For one year, DuBois dedicated her time to giving back through performances and activities in 18 countries. DuBois attended College Park High School in Pleasant Hill and currently resides in Irvine, Calif.

Shurian began his career at Disneyland in attractions in 1994 and had roles in Guest Relations and Guest Communications before reaching his current position as a communications specialist in Cast Communications. He also is an Adventure Guide for Adventures by Disney – traveling around the world sharing his passion for Disney with families on vacation. Shurian has been a Disney VoluntEAR for nearly 10 years – dedicating time to various projects around the community. Two of those years he has held spots on the Disney VountEARS Leadership Council. Shurian attended Newbury Park High School and currently resides in Orange, Calif.

A CHORUS LINE HASN’T LOST IT’S KICK

SoCalThrills Staff

November 20, 2008

Born out of hundreds of hours interviewing real Broadway dancers, known as “gypsies,” A CHORUS LINE is a collection of these real stories told through words, song and of course dance during an audition process for an upcoming musical. The show kicks it off with a seven-minute opener and the familiar request “Let’s do the whole combination from the top, away from the mirror, a five, six, seven eight!”

After passing the initial cut, these performers are told by the director that “I think it would be better if I knew something about you – about your personalities” in order to aid his selection. In this powerful setting – a bare black Broadway stage with nothing but some iconic upstage mirrors, it is here that each of the 17 performers, some reluctantly, open up about their past.

One candidate named Mike talks about being the youngest of twelve and attending his sister’s dance class. Sheila speaks of dance as an escape from her disappointing family life. Bebe admits she doesn’t see herself as beautiful, but dancing allows her to feel beautiful. Paul’s monologue about performing as a drag queen remains the show’s high point, despite his admission having less cultural impact today than when this play premiered to audiences in 1975. It is clear that unlike Americans today who audition for shows like American Idol for the sole purpose of stardom, these performers aren’t looking for instant fame – they are simply looking for a job. Nowhere is this clearer than the story of Cassie, a former star who the director feels is “dancing down” by appearing in the chorus line.

For someone who grew up watching pseudo-operas like Phantom, self-referential shows like The Producers, and special effect shows like Wicked, the utter simplicity and sincerity of A CHORUS LINE is shocking. Robin Wagner’s set design is clever in it’s plainness and packs a punch when the mirrors are put to work. The updated lighting design by Natasha Katz has a fun use of colored gels to transport us into the character’s flashback sequences. Despite a few staging adjustments, director Bob Avian didn’t set out to radically remake this show and it’s clear that audiences approve. This current production recouped its investment of $8 million in just 19 weeks after opening.

The highlight of the show is the finale “One,” which is often referenced as one of the greatest moments in Broadway musical history. These high-kicking performers earned a spontaneous standing ovation from our sold-out performance the old fashioned way: they showcased their dancing skills with energetic professionalism.

Tickets are on sale at the OCPAC Box Office or by clicking here www.ocpac.org .

SCRUBS: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON DVD Review

SoCalThrills Staff

November 20, 2008

When it premiered in 2001, Scrubs was a hilariously entertaining show. It had one of the best ensemble casts on television, a very unique sense of humor, and a great sense of storytelling. Over the years, the show has gradually declined into a mediocre mess of a show, trying to force sentiment it doesn’t earn and forcing laughs where there is no humor. A hospital can be a great location for serious and humorous storytelling, and through the prism of the hilariously fanciful J.D. (Zach Braff), the writers used to create a perfect balance. Unfortunately, the characters had to evolve and the writers weren’t able to keep up.

By the time the show entered the Seventh Season, the balance of the ensemble had been shattered. J.D. was having a child, his best friend Turk was married, his on-again/off-again love interest Elliot was working in private practice, etc. Scrubs was no longer about the interactions between the core group, but rather the individuals in that group and their specific storylines. A big theme of this season was growing up, and granted, characters have to change and storylines have to progress, but this particular show thrived on the dynamic that had already been created.

Making matters worse, this season was sabotaged by a combination of the infamous Writer’s Strike as well as an uncertainty as to the show’s end date. These struggles are felt in every episode. It’s obvious that the writers want closure but they don’t know how quickly to approach it. However, the biggest problem with this season is that it simply isn’t funny. At times, the humor can be downright grating. Scrubs helped pioneer the concept of the cutaway fantasy sequence, but for some reason, the creativity just wasn’t there this year. Particularly painful is the Season Finale. An homage to The Princess Bride as well as Monty Python, it completely misses the mark from beginning to end.

Because of the Writer’s Strike, only 11 episodes were produced this season. The DVD contains all 11 of these episodes, and some pretty unnecessary extras. There is a montage of people goofing off in an elevator (why?), and a completely pointless interview with Ken Jenkins, who plays Chief of Medicine Bob Kelso. There are also the standard bloopers, deleted scenes, etc. The biggest extra is a very bland behind-the-scenes look at the Season Finale.

Thankfully, the show has been given another chance with an eight season. They are moving from NBC to ABC, and hopefully this transition will inspire a new level of creativity that has been long missing. At least we will be given the closure the writers so desperately want to provide. Here’s hoping that they remember to be funny while they are doing it.

TINKER BELL on DVD

SoCalThrills Staff

November 20, 2008

Magic and enchantment await audiences as they enter the world of Fairies with the release of an all-new original film, TINKER BELL.

This landmark motion picture produced by DisneyToon Studios reveals the story of Tinker Bell’s early life while revealing many of life’s wondrous mysteries of nature. It provides new and fun answers for parents to the basic questions children ask about the world around them. Why do leaves change colors? Where does a rainbow get its glow? How do birds learn to fly? … It’s all the work of fairies!

“I fell in love with this idea, and I thought this is the key to Tinker Bell and the world that she comes from. Having these characters in this miniature world connected so deeply to nature and the changes that happen in nature through the seasons, it’s truly something that no one has ever seen before and that’s what is so exciting,“ remarks TINKER BELL executive producer, John Lasseter.

Lasseter, along with the film’s director Brad Raymond, art director Fred Warter and the entire filmmaking crew have woven an enchanting world where the magic of nature comes to life. As the tale of friendship and self-discovery unfolds, so does the wondrous changing of a season. The film’s relationship with nature was a key part of shaping TINKER BELL’s final creative path. Brad Raymond explains, “It was important to us to create a sensibility that allows the audience to relate to this fictional world. For TINKER BELL, it was relating the magic of the fairies to the world of nature.”

The enchantment of nature is even explored within the sounds and music of TINKER BELL. Composer, Joel McNeely went deep into the sounds of nature, weaving an array of natural sounds into his musical score. “When I heard the emphasis regarding nature, I immediately started thinking how I could represent that musically,” recalls McNeely. Sound Effects editor Ron Eng provided McNeely with an entire library of nature sounds and he began masterfully blending the delicate sounds of nature into his full-orchestral score. Mixed within the acoustics of the traditional instruments are croaking bullfrogs, chirping birds, water droplets, crickets and even whale songs. McNeely explains, ”When you hear a percussion track, it’s actually a sparrow or cicada; instead of a drum hit, it’s the sound of a water droplet; a frog instead of a low drum sound. I made a whole palette of them and we had fun – there were really no boundaries.”

Tinker Bell is enhanced by an impressive voice cast widely acclaimed for performances on stage and screen. Mae Whitman (Nights in Rodanthe) gives Tinker Bell her first true voice, and Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award winner America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) provides the voice of the mischievous Fawn, an animal fairy. Five-time Image Award honoree Raven-Symoné (College Road Trip) fills the illuminating role of Iridessa, a light fairy; Tony® Award winner Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies) offers the elegant tones of Rosetta, a garden fairy; and two-time SAG Awardee Lucy Liu (Dirty Sexy Money) plays Silvermist, an endearing water fairy. In addition, singer-songwriter Jesse McCartney lends his voice to Terence, keeper of the pixie dust, and Academy Award® winning actress Anjelica Huston (Prizzi’s Honor) reigns over Pixie Hollow as the voice of Queen Clarion.

Tinker Bell is the first in a series of films featuring the Disney Fairies, and has a suggested retail price of $29.99 DVD in the US., $34.99 SRP for the Blu-ray. Exclusive DVD and Blu-ray bonus features, including a behind-the-scenes “making of” featurette and more are divided into two distinctive menus.

PIXIE HOLLOW – takes viewers inside the mysterious Fairy world:

MAGICAL GUIDE TO PIXIE HOLLOW – New fairies and visitors to Pixie Hollow get to explore this treasury of pixie lore and discover the ancient realm of fairies with Queen Clarion and Tinker Bell as their personal guides.
“EVER WONDER” – Ever wonder how a rose bursts into bloom? Or how a rainbow stretches across the sky? Or how the morning dew paints a cobweb? “Ever Wonder” shows how fairies put the “wonder” in natural wonders. THE MAINLAND – explores the making of the movie:
CREATING PIXIE HOLLOW – Discover how the filmmakers created the physical realm of Pixie Hollow along with its history and fairy society.
DELETED SCENES – With filmmaker intros.
Blu-ray Exclusive Bonus Materials

Interactive BD live Guide to The Mysterious World of Pixie Hollow
Set Top Game
Making of Featurette

Hellboy II: The Golden Army DVD Review

SoCalThrills Staff

November 20, 2008

There are certain movies that are such the result of a director’s unique vision that it would be impossible to imagine the same film as made by anybody else. Visionary director Guillermo Del Toro has crafted such a film in Hellboy 2. Even though the movie is an adaptation of a series of Graphic Novels by Mike Mignola, Del Toro has made this world his own. As his follow-up to Pan’s Labyrinth, he has created an extraordinarily beautiful fantasy disguised as a typical superhero/fantasy movie.

This movie is a feast for the senses, vastly superior to the surprisingly mundane original. That movie served a necessary function by establishing the main group of characters and the world they inhabit. While the story was huge, the movie felt small. Nothing is small in Hellboy 2. Del Toro assumes we’ve seen the original and he now invites us to explore the hidden details of this world.

The story of Hellboy 2 is nothing special. There is a semi-interesting backstory involving a war between humanity and the world of fantasy, the truce that was established, and the villain who wants to end that truce. However, none of this really matters. The story simply serves as a device to get our characters from one jaw-dropping location to another, and to introduce as many creatively beautiful creatures as possible. A particular highlight involves a trip to a “troll-market,” populated with all manner of creatures huge and small. I found myself frequently pausing the image in order to make sure I didn’t miss any of the details that go by so quickly.

While the DVD extras are interesting, they don’t really do justice to the film itself. For being such an imaginative movie, the documentaries on the creative process feel very pedestrian. I expected a higher degree of insight into the creative process, but it all proves very generic and not at all insightful. We see the creation of the worlds, but none of the excitement. There are the standard looks into pre-production, production, and post-production, as well as the standard art galleries. The best extra is a tour of the Troll-Market set. Del Toro hosts this segment, and just walks around explaining the layout of this sequence. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really showcase the creatures seen in this sequence, just the set itself.

Despite this, the DVD is definitely worth owning for the movie itself. Everything about Hellboy 2 is on a huge scale, and it is worth multiple viewings. Del Toro has proved that Pan’s Labyrinth was no fluke. He has a truly unique vision, and Hellboy 2 is a truly unique experience.

Is This Really Bond, James Bond?

SoCalThrills Staff

November 20, 2008

In the last film of this long-running franchise, Craig introduced a more brutal, intense and realistic Bond to the world. A similar Bond returns with more of a vengeance in Quantum of Solace, though it takes us even farther away from the conventions of the Sean Connery years.

To start, this is the first Bond sequel ever to pick-up shortly after where the previous film ended (really, it’s only been a few hours). Stinging from the apparent betrayal of the one Bond girl we are led to believe he actually loved, Bond is determined to uncover whether Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) actually loved him in return and, more importantly, seek revenge on the ulta-secret international organization known as QUANTUM that blackmailed her.

Bond’s quest for revenge puts him on the path to follow a QUANTUM mastermind named Monsieur Greene who has nefarious plans to profit from the world’s dwindling natural resources (and we’re not just talking about oil for a change). Following after Mr. Greene takes Bond from London to Haiti to Austria to South America to more locations than any other Bond film.

Along the way he meets the beautifully exotic Camille (Olga Kurylenko) seeking revenge against someone in close partnership with Greene who murdered her family. Unlike most Bond films, he helps her kill her man without ever trying to get her into bed. Maybe his heart is still with Vesper?

The action sequences are bigger and more frequent than the previous film with a short-lived interrogation of Mr White (who was captured at the end of Casino Royale) leading early on to an adrenaline-pumping, rooftop crashing action sequence reminiscent of Jackie Chan stunts. The action continues with high speed boat chases, dueling planes in the air, free-falling skydives, and exploding hotels on fire.

The jam-packed action sequences compensate for the chaotic plot and underutilized Bond. Though Daniel Craig appears in almost every scene, his character is entirely driven by grim determination of payback. So much so that he looks angry in every scene, whether enjoying the company of a lady at a party or kicking the crap out of a villain. One of the few familiarities we welcome is the return of Judi Dench as M. Together they share some of the most memorable lines in the film, such as when M tells Bond, “I think you are so blinded by inconsolable rage that you don’t care who you hurt.”

It’s nice to have a more realistic Bond that can feel pain as much as he can serve it, but it would also be nice to see more of the emotion that Craig showed us in Casino Royal. Still, this is a refreshing break from the familiar “shaken not stirred” Bonds of the past. Craig has two more Bond films under his current contract to find that sensitive balance between Bond’s brutality and his heart.

PopStar Guitar Review

Robbie Bulus

November 20, 2008

PopStar Guitar has plenty going for it but its execution and style take away from what could have been a decent Guitar Hero clone.

Gameplay: PopStar Guitar has you playing as a member of a band. You can create your own band or choose from three bands that have already been created for you. One is a boy band, another is a girl band, and the last is a mix of the two. All the characters in the band look relatively the same, and no matter what band you choose, it does not affect the way the game is played. Customization of the band would have been an excellent opportunity for the player to express his/her creativity, but with the limited amount of choices available (I believe there were five girls and five boys with basic features to choose from), this “customization” feature is sorely lacking.

For playing the actual game, PopStar comes included with two devices called AirG which attach to your Wii Remotes. Basically it is a cheaper version of the guitars that would normally come packaged with a Guitar Hero game. Each AirG has four colored buttons that correspond to the colored “note” that come streaking down the screen. To strum, your Wii Nunchuck must be attached and you need to move the analog stick in any direction timed correctly to when you press the colored button on the AirG device. Interesting feature but it makes for some awkward moments later.

Your objective in the game is to increase the popularity of your band by obtaining fans. You can earn more fans by performing more concerts locally or making music videos and release them to the public. This is a neat feature that could have been expanded more. Instead it just becomes an excuse to play the same songs over and over again just to earn yourself more fans. The repetitive nature of gaining more fans just becomes annoying after a while. Furthermore, in the beginning of the game, only one song is available to you and it takes awhile to open more songs. So get used to hearing more and more of the same song again and again.

Graphics: Another area of this game that is sorely lacking are the graphics. They look bad and ridiculous considering Guitar Hero and Rock Band can create some pretty decent character models for a last generation system. This game looks like it was made when the Playstation 2 first debuted. It is simply unacceptable for a game to neglect its graphics this much. I know that a music rhythm game shouldn’t be concerned that much with its graphics but when the audience has nothing to look at but characters that look worst than Mii’s, then you’ve got a problem. In fact, where are the Mii’s? This game would have been great if you could import the Mii’s from your Wii! Another missed opportunity and a simple fix to what became a distracting problem.

Sound: This is about the only area that this game is good at. The music selection is great! However, you must like pop songs. There are no real guitar solos here. All the music selections are from classic to current pop hits. Most are from Miley Cyrus, Maroon 5, Jonas Brothers, and other popular bands. Broadsword did an excellent job of recruiting great talent for their games and getting the best licenses for their target audience. It is the only reason why the grade has a “+” symbol in front of it. Now if only they spent more time in the other areas of the game.

Control: Simply put, the AirG is a clumsy piece of junk and is no replacement to having an actual, simulated guitar controller. The AirG works fine for single notes, and moving the analog stick to strum is not a problem. However, when chords begin to appear, then pressing those buttons becomes harder if not impossible. First, those colored buttons are difficult to push down and are stiff. It takes a great amount of force to make those buttons click to register on the screen. When you have a chord of two, three, or four notes, you have to apply so much pressure, you feel like your fingers are going to come off. After a while, I got tired from pressing them in and just gave up. Secondly, the “home” and “+” buttons are in the middle of two of the colored buttons and they constantly get pushed when a chord comes on screen. The game will pause and ask if you want to resume and that just gets annoying when you are on a rhythm. Good idea with the AirG but poor execution.

Summary: Save your money and buy the real deal. Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour are a much better choice for your money than this low rated piece of junk. Even if you want to be a pop star, save your cash and be a rock star instead. You’ll find you got more music for your buck.

New DVD Releases of Old Classics

SoCalThrills Staff

November 11, 2008

ROMAN HOLIDAY

Synopsis: There is an old saying: “See Naples and die … see Rome and LIVE!” And Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) plans to do just that. While on a high-profile tour of European cities, this modern-day princess decides to rebel against her regimented and stifling royal obligations once her regal entourage reaches Italy. Determined to take in all the sights and sounds of The Eternal City, she sneaks off on an adventurous exploration … one that leads to an encounter with handsome American newspaperman Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) and his affable photographer pal (Eddie Albert). Joe is desperate for an exclusive story — and he’s got a colossal one, once he discovers he’s in the company of a runaway princess! Can romance be far behind? Nominated to 10 Academy Awards and the winner of three*, director William Wyler’s timeless romp is an enthralling romantic comedy that will capture your heart and imagination. *Winner: Best Actress (Audrey Hepburn); Best Writing – Motion Picture Story (Dalton Trumbo); and Best Costume Design – Black & White (Edith Head), 1953.

Sunset Boulevard

Synopsis: Gloria Swanson gives a career-defining performance as faded silent screen star Norma Desmond in director Billy Wilder’s dark and masterful film classic, “Sunset Boulevard.” William Holden is Joe Gillis, the young, down-on-his-luck screenwriter whom Norma drafts to help provide her with a workable script for her planned “return” to the modern-day screen. Erich von Stroheim is Max von Mayerling, Norma’s devoted servant and chauffeur, who harbors a few personal revelations of his own. Hollywood has never taken a more ominous, compelling or electrifying look at Hollywood than in this brilliant, Oscar®-winning tour de force that still mesmerizes with its witty, sardonic script, unforgettable cast, and provocative storyline. The exceptional cast also includes Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough, Jack Webb and — as themselves — Cecil B. DeMille, Hedda Hopper, Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson and H.B. Warner.

Sabrina

Synopsis: Isn’t it romantic…Sabrina is charming, humorous and aglow with some of Hollywood’s greatest stars. Humphrey Bogart, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn star in a Cinderella story directed by renowned filmmaker Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot). Bogie and Holden are the mega-rich Larrabee brothers of Long Island. Bogie’s all work, Holden’s all playboy. But when Sabrina, daughter of the family’s chauffeur, returns from Paris all grown up and glamorous, the stage is set for some family fireworks as the brothers fall under the spell of Hepburn’s delightful charms.