DVD Review: Pixar Short Films Collection (2007)

It's the greatest idea no one had ever thought of until now. You know those little Pixar shorts that play before movies, including For the Birds and Lifted? Now you can watch almost all of the Pixar shorts on a single DVD, thanks to the new Pixar Short Films Collection, available on Tuesday.

Pixar Short Films Collection contains the following short films:

• The Adventures of Andrew and Wally B.
  This is one of Pixar's oldest movies, from when they were still a part of Lucasfilm. Good animation for the time, though the movie itself is nothing spectacular compared to some of the others on the list.
  
• Luxo Jr.
  Is this the living lamp one that the Pixar logo is based on? If so, this is one of the better early ones and really doesn't show its age.
• Red's Dream
  This is the worst out of the group. It's basically about a unicycle that dreams that ugly, creepy clown that's riding it gets displaced and for once, it, the unicycle, steals the show. There's nothing spectacular here in terms of animation or story.
• Tin Toy
  This one is pretty imaginative and well animated, though it falls a bit flat at times. The baby that serves as "the monster" is quite creepy looking, and not necessarily intentionally.
• Knick Knack
  One of the best of the shorts, this one is about a snowman inside a snow globe who desperately tries to break free to get to a seductive bikini doll only a few feet away. His efforts, as you might imagine, don't go too well.
• Geri's Game
  This one is okay, if not a little creepy. Geri's Game is about an old man who plays chess with himself and gets quite clever in the process; of course, when you think about it, it's sad and suggests mental illness.
• For The Birds
  Probably one of the best known animated short ever, this is the one where a big, stupid bird tries to hang out with a bunch of tiny, smarter (but meaner) birds, and the results are hilariously disastrous.
• Mike's New Car
  A short based on Monsters, Inc. has the two leads from that feature length movie getting in trouble with Mike's new car. The hijinks are funny at first, but eventually you realize there's not much cleverness to the routine.
• Boundin'
  Boundin' is a clever little skit with a rhyming narration about a sheep that learns to be happy even when all of his wool is removed each year. Ultimately, the short isn't that funny, but I give it props for imagination.
• Jack-Jack Attack
  I'm not a huge fan of these short films based on actual movies, but this one is definitely quite entertaining. Jack-Jack Attack is basically a deleted scenes from The Incredibles, and shows us what happens to the babysitter who is watching young Jack-Jack, who suddenly begins to show his powers. I like how Pixar made this as if they pulled it right out of the movie (which is one of my favorite Pixar movies).
• One Man Band
  Another funny short, this has a poor little girl torn between two competing street musicians who are vying to get her golden coin. The twist at the end is great.
• Mater and The Ghostlight
  Cars was the worst Pixar movie ever, and is just a boring movie overall. This short film based on the Cars characters is just as dull, although had they stretched the story of this one into a full-length movie, Cars still would have been better.
• Lifted
  Another Pixar classic, Lifted is about a teenage alien who is going through "driving school" with an alien instructor, only this driving school is actually a test to abduct a human being. Basically, the teenager isn't very good, and the result is the human being bounced all over the place.

The Pixar Short Films Collection is a great idea and I'm happy Disney finally decided to put these together. Some of the shorts are better than others, but if you've always wanted to see them all, it will certainly make a good rental.

Movie Review: Surf's Up (2007)

I recently watched Surf's Up, which is yet another penguin movie. But, unlike Happy Feet, Surf's Up relies more on screenplay and less on cute looking critters dancing like they're on crystal meth. I found Happy Feet dreadfully dull after the first 20 minutes, but Surf's Up keeps on entertaining from start to finish.

It just has these three things going against it:

• It's a penguin movie, and March of the Penguins, a documentary featuring the real thing, was more entertaining.
• It's still not as good as the really good animated films, like those from Pixar
• It won't appeal to little kids. The humor is dry and very dialogue-driven; little kids will find Happy Feet a bit more visually stimulating.

Still, for those of you who like animated films, Surf's Up is one of the better ones of the year. Read the full Surf's Up movie review here.

Movie Review: Fido (2007)

Fido, a zombie movie that is quite different from most zombie movies, is now out on DVD, and I have a copy in my possession. As such, I have written a movie review for the film.

I was rather looking forward to this picture, as 1) zombie films are hard to mess up (though Resident Evil 3 certainly proved me wrong with that one, 2) zombie comedies are generally funny and 3) a movie about a boy and his pet zombie just sounds entertaining.

Unfortunately, the film fails to live up to its potential, as it just isn't funny enough. Read my full Fido movie review here.

DVD review: Knocked Up

Knocked Up hit DVD on Tuesday, September 25th (yes, just the other day!) and this hilarious comedy - most likely the best comedy of the year (read the full Knocked Up movie review) - is now out in several new editions, including a 2-disc Collector's Edition. The cover art here implies Amazon.com may not have the latest info, as the DVD in my hands (well, not literally in my hands - how would I be able to type?) says "Extended & Unrated". Watch out!

The cover also boasts over three hours of bonus footage, and they aren't kidding. The DVD includes "Finding Ben Stone", which looks at other actors who were considered before settling on Seth Rogen, an inside look at the stripper scene (how horrible), some video diaries and several other things.

Of course, one of my favorites are the gag reels, and the DVD boasts two gag reels. The DVD also includes 50 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, not all of which I have watched quite yet. I may do another article next week when I get a chance to watch all of this extra footage.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter what the bonus features are like - this is a hilarious, well-written and sharp comedy that you have to buy, because you know that otherwise you're just going to end up renting it over and over and over again.

Run, Fatboy, Run release date changed

For unknown reasons, Run, Fatboy, Run, starring Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg, has been pushed back from October 26, 2007 to March 28, 2008. It's a real shame, because this one looked pretty funny.

Pegg seems to be a comedy golden child right now, though this one looks to be a bit more slapstick than Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (and Mission: Impossible III - don't miss his almost serious performance in that one!)

Movie Review: Death at a Funeral (2007)

Chaos is unleashed in Frank Oz's new picture about a family just trying to get through a funeral. What should have been a depressing but relatively unmemorable day turns out to be anything but, and the end result is a relatively entertaining comedy called Death at a Funeral.

The movie stars Matthew Macfadyen as Daniel, a man who is holding a service for his late father. Struggling under the shadow of his more popular older brother, he has invited his father's friends and relatives for a simple, quiet send off. Unfortunately, one man has showed up accidentally high on acid, and he spends most of his time running around naked and admiring bushes. Even worse, another man has shown up to blackmail him, and he has to figure out how to keep the guy quiet without ruining his father's reputation - and saving his much-needed money.

Death at a Funeral starts off rather slow. It has its funny moments, but overall is rather bland for a comedy. But when everything starts to piece itself together, you realize that Oz has just been setting you up for the rest of the story, a tight, fast-paced comedy that doesn't always offer up the best laughs but still is consistently entertaining.

I would have liked to see a few more ludicrous situations, or perhaps a little more spark to the characters (you can tell they're trying, but their humor is just not coming across), but as is, Death at a Funeral still works. The characters are likable, even if they aren't used to their full potential, and Macfadyen is good in the lead. In reality, the humor here is a lot more direct and situational than I was expecting, as I figured it would be more of a low-budget British comedy with extremely dry humor and not much else.

Death of a Funeral isn't a great film, but if you like comedies that star British people and enjoy films off the beaten track, it is a nice change of pace. Overall, it is a very entertaining hour and a half.

The Comebacks movie looks God-awful

Has anyone seen the movie trailer for The Comebacks? If not, you can watch the movie trailer here. Then again, stop that mouse click right now and save yourself some brain cells, as The Comebacks, a cheesy spoof of sports movies, looks like it has studied every bad spoof in recent years (Epic Movie and Date Movie come to mind).

David Koechner stars as the coach, and this guy seems to be in just about every bad movie there is. The guy isn't funny, and I can hardly stand to listen to him most of the time. From the commercials for Comedy Central's "The Naked Trucker" to roles in Reno 911: The Movie, Let's Go to Prison and Balls of Fury, this guy is trying to scrape a career together without any talent or sense of a good film.

And again, the movie previews are just full of some of the dumbest jokes ever shown to man. Even the previews for Epic Movie and Date Movie had some "funny" moments (even though you knew they were going to suck), but The Comebacks can't even manage that.

Hilarious R-rated Superbad clip

Everyone! I just watched this new R-rated clip from Superbad, about a commonly known heterosexual syndrome known as dick drawing. What am I talking about? Watch this Superbad clip to find out...



This movie is going to rock.

Another Tyler Perry movie? God is punishing me

Since I run a relatively successful movie website, I am obligated to include all wide releases in my movie database, and that includes the new Tyler Perry movie, the ego-boosting-titled Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?

I am promoting the film by even writing this blog post, yet I must point out that I despise his movies and the man himself for forcing unsuspecting audiences to watch absolutely dreadful pieces of crap. Why does Lionsgate keep making them? Because they make money. Why do they make money? Because people go see them, or rent them. Why do people do that? I have no f**king clue, but they're probably: a) religious and somehow got tricked into Christianity-can-make-even-bad-movies-good propoganda, b) absolutely stupid, c) have never heard of Tyler Perry or have never witnessed how bad his movies can be, or d) get a hard-on from watching a man dress up like a woman.

Nonetheless, he has a new movie coming out, and I'm tempted to email my contact at Lionsgate at demand that they drop this film from the release schedule or else I will never work with them again on a project.

Okay, so that might not work, but please, people, please, don't watch this movie! It only causes more Tyler Perry movies to be made!

The Host DVD Review

The Host, the hugely popular critical success out of Korea, is coming to DVD on Tuesday. The movie, about a monster that kills bystanders along the Han River and causes a harsh reaction from the U.S. military, is a very entertaining and surprisingly "believable" monster movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and laughing, for most of the picture.

If you're a fan of the film, the 2-disc Collector's Edition is certainly something you should consider purchasing, as it is loaded with tons of great bonus features, most of which are interviews and featurettes about the making of the film. I didn't watch everything, but what I did see was quite interesting. There is an interview with the writers of the film, who provide some insight into what inspired them - this includes a real case about toxic chemicals being dumped into the Han River (the birth of the creature), the movie Signs (how the alien invasion was more about the family than the creatures) and one other movie I can't recall at this moment. Another focuses on the set design and shows how most locations in the movie, including the food stand, the bridges and even the creature's lair, all really exist.

Other featurettes include a look at the special effects, sound effects, creature design, creature animation and more, while there are also casting tapes, cast interviews, actor training, the Korean trailers, a director's commentary and, the only really disastrous part of the DVD, a blooper real that is about as funny as a dead relative.

All in all, a great movie packaged with a great DVD makes for an excellent purchase opportunity...

Read my Host movie review or learn more about The Host at: http://www.movie-source.com/movie_page.asp?movieID=2700

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry Review

Adam Sandler is at it again. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry has Sandler and "King of Queens" star Kevin James as two straight men playing the married gay couple life, but the results aren't nearly as funny as you'd expect.

James plays Larry, a firefighter who has come to the realization that if he dies, his pension will not go to his motherless children. To get around a flawed system where he cannot name them as a beneficiary, he legally "marries" his best friend Chuck (Sandler). The only problem - they are both completely straight. Actually, there are other problems, too. The pension committee has decided to investigate their marriage to determine they aren't being fraudulent, their lawyer is smoking hot Jessica Biel, and they must face discrimination from their buddies at the firehouse, religious nuts on the street and more.

Chuck and Larry is essentially what you'd expect from a Sandler movie in terms of plot - instead of a hockey player playing golf or an adult idiot forced to repeat grade school, it's about two straight guys posing as gay guys. The only problem is that it really isn't funny, or at least not in a good way. I have been a fan of Sandler movies in the past, so I'm not one of those anti-Sandler critics - Happy Gilmore is one of my all-time favorite comedies - butChuck and Larry just botches it. It's not that there aren't plenty of laughs; it's just that the movie is clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel to piece together a full movie. The movie does have some good gags, but it is so inconsistent, cheesy and ludicrous that it is hard to get into the film.

Chuck and Larry would have worked so much better had it tried to keep things simple and had not been written by three guys who apparently have never met a real gay guy, which is quite strange for a Hollywood production. It gets bogged down with a third act devoted to a courtroom trial, and whenever stupid comedies end up in a courtroom, you know you're in for some absolutely cheesy legal mumbo jumbo that would never happen in real life, and will usually conclude with some group standing up for the falsely accused (in this case, they should go to prison for fraud) to the point where the judicial system decides to turn its blind eye. That was a bit of a run-on sentence, but you get the point.

Even worse is the fact that Chuck and Larry are so bad at pretending to be gay that it makes a mockery of the other characters in the movie, and the audience. When these two guys are trying to prove that their gay, whether it's to a sleazy investigator (who really isn't that sleazy) played by Steve Buscemi or Ms. Biel, they do such a bad job that any sensible person could see right through their charade. Instead, for the convenience of the story, these seemingly intelligent people disregard all of the signs that they are being had. Worse, to us the audience, we have to accept the dumbest and most cliche stereotypes about gays to force ourselves through the movie. HadChuck and Larry done a little more homework and shifted the story from an impending trial to the two men researching how to be gay, we could have had even funnier moments in a more plausible environment. Basically, it was rather annoying that the movie didn't show a single non-flaming gay person. If I were gay, I'd be offended.

Also, it probably doesn't help that I don't find Kevin James very funny.

All that being said,Chuck and Larry does have enough laughs to pull you through its overly long 110 minute running time. The third act definitely begins to fall apart, but there are enough routines for the first 50 minutes that you can enjoy yourself somewhat. There are a fair amount of cameos that work, especially one near the end involving a certain gay singer. If you like other goofy Sandler movies, you'll findChuck and Larry okay, but this one is a big notch down from his best work. Unlike his other films, I would not want to watch this one again.

Kristen Bell is Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Production Weekly reports Kristen Bell will play the title role in the romantic comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, during her eight week hiatus from "Veronica Mars".

Jason Segel ("How I Met Your Mother") wrote the script and will co-star with Bell, with Nick Stoller making his directing debut.

After a devastating break-up with his girlfriend TV sitcom star Sarah Marshall (Bell), a heartbroken and depressed Peter (Segel) heads to Hawaii for a little vacation to try his best to forget every detail of his relationship with Sarah. But love laughs at Peter, because Sarah is vacationing in the same exclusive resort as Peter, along with her new boyfriend.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall will start filming mid-April on location at the Turtle Bay Resort in Oahu, Hawaii and Los Angeles.