Actors: Alessandro Juliani, Ian Hanlin, Brian Drummond, Nicole Oliver, Vincent Tong
Rated: Not Rated
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: July 26, 2016

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

I have to admit, I have never heard of Nexo Knights. I am an avid fan of all things LEGO but this series never crossed my path. The episodes are pretty neat. Its a quirky cross between medieval and space theme. Not just for kids either, definitely stole my 34 year old attention with no trouble. I know there is a second season out there, so I hope that WB has plans to release that next.

Official Premise: The high tech Kingdom of Knighton is in trouble. The King’s Jester has gone rogue and stolen the strange talking Book of Monsters. Using its evil magic, he summons an army of dangerous Lava Monsters and attacks. It is up to the brave but inexperienced NEXO Knights to come to the rescue. In their amazing rolling castle and with the help of holographic Wizard Merlok 2.0, they have technology and NEXO powers, an incredible new digitized magic, on their side. But the Jester and the Book of Monsters have a sinister plot that may spell doom over the once peaceful kingdom.

On this 2 disc set there are 10 episodes from season 1 included: “The Book of Monsters – Part 1”, “The Book of Monsters – Part 2”, “The Power of Merlok”, “The Knight’s Code”, “Fright Knight”, “The Golden Castle”, “The Maze of Amazement”, “The Black Knight”, “The Book of Total Badness” and “The Might and the Magic”. No other special features are included on this DVD.

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Number of discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: August 2, 2016
Run Time: 60 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I have seen literally every single episode of Pegga Pig due to my 4 year old’s love for this show. Actually let me fix that statement, I have seen every every of Peppa Pig numerous times. But honestly, I never get tired of it. “Peppa Pig: Sunny Vacation” is the latest DVD release in this series. It includes a 4-Part Special + 8 Fun-Packed Peppasodes! It is all based around the family taking trips. The episodes are fun and even though we have seen them over and over they are still great to watch.

Official Premise: It’s time for a special Family Holiday! Join Peppa Pig, her little brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig on their fun-filled trip abroad. Peppa is enjoying all of the sights and sounds of Italy, but she also can’t wait to go home and see her friends! Little ones will love the four-part sunny adventure and the rest of this cheery peppasode collection.

The 12 episodes included are “Flying on Holiday”, “The Holiday House”, “Holiday in the Sun”, “End of the Holiday”, “Potato City”, “The New House”, “Basketball”, “Mr. Fox’s Shop”, “Grampy Rabbit’s Dinosaur Park”, “Lost Keys”, “The Aquarium” and “The Sandpit”. Can’t wait till the next themed release for this fun and cute series! Can I request another Halloween or Christmas themed DVD?

Director: Hoon-jung Park
Starring: Choi Min-sik, Man-sik Jeong, Sang-ho Kim, Yoo-Bin Sung, Ren Ôsugi, Jung Suk Won
Language: Korean
Subtitles: English
Rated: Not Rated
Studio: Well Go USA
Release Date: August 9, 2016
Run Time: 139 minutes

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1/2 out of 5 stars

“The Tiger” is a Korean drama that probably no one will ever see yet it was easily one of my favorite films this year. It stars Choi Min-sik and a CGI tiger, which looks not good but outstanding. Why didn’t this get a bigger release is beyond me. You might know Choi Min-sik from “Oldboy” from 2003 not the terrible Spike Lee remake with Josh Broli from 2013 and also from the Scarlet Scarlett Johansson led “Lucy”.

The film is a bit long running about 2.5 hours but the payoff is totally worth it. Even though slow moving, the story keeps you going and draws you in and you develop feelings for this CGI marvel. The wolves are not as fine tuned but still impressive. IF you are done with all the summer dazzle action films, definitely give this a look!

Official Premise: n ex-sharpshooter for the Kingdom of Korea (Choi Min-sik, Oldboy) is hunting the country’s last tiger. But Japanese forces and vicious local poachers also seek “The Four-Legged Mountain Lord,” and will stop at nothing to claim their prey.

The Blu-ray’s 1080p transfer compliments the VFX and beautiful locations perfectly. I also well in love with the film’ major cue from the score. I absolutely loved it and it just sounded amazing. The only special feature is a theatrical trailer included, which is a major shame because I would have loved to seen a featurette on the tiger’s VFX.

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Actors: Jason Alexander, Frances Conroy, Grey Griffin, James Monroe Igelhart, Stephen Root
Directors: Spike Brandt, Tony Cervone
Studio: Warner Bros Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: June 21, 2016
Running Time: 81 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The fact that there are still new Tom and Jerry films made blows me away. Not to mention actually good films! “Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz” is the sequel to the 2011 animated film, “Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz”, which was a great film in itself. The songs are great and I love that they incorporated the lost Jitterbug song into the film as well. In terms of voice cast, there is no shortage of talent here. Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”) voices both Mr. Bibb / The Nome King, Rob Paulsen (“Animaniacs”) voiced The Tin Man / Hickory, Frances Conroy (“American Horror Story”) voiced Aunt Em / Glinda and Stephen Root (“Office Space”) voiced Uncle Henry. If you love “Wizard of Oz” and Tom and Jerry, this is a must see!

Official Premise: With the Wicked Witch of the West now vanquished from Oz, Tom and Jerry along with Dorothy are back in Kansas! But not for long as an all-new villain has surfaced from beneath the magical land, the Gnome King! Having captured the Good Witch, the Gnome King and his army are wreaking havoc throughout Oz and need but one item to take control of The Emerald City, Dorothy’s ruby slippers! It’s up to our favorite cat and mouse duo to team up, go Back to Oz and save the land they love. Take to the skies, courtesy of the Wizard himself, with Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion as they make their magical journey. The laughs and adventure will roar as they encounter all-new frights and mischievous creatures down the Yellow Brick Road, ’cause “we’re not in Kansas anymore!”

Warner Bros Home Entertainment only released this sequel on DVD…but they did include a Digital HD copy, which is a huge bonus for me! In terms of special features, there is not a whole lot included but worth checking out if you enjoyed the film. There are four sing-along music videos from the films songs. There is also a neat alternate opening for the film with the feature “Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz: Classic Style”, which gives the film a fun sepia tone opening. Having watched this film 2 or 3 times already at the time of writing, this film gets better with each viewing as well. Just simple plain Tom and Jerry fun!

Directors: Chris Carter, James Wong, Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan
Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis
Number of discs: 2
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: June 14, 2016
Run Time: 264 minutes

Event Series: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

It has been 14 years since “The X-Files” left television. Hardcore fans have always wanted more and we never left satified from the sub par feature films. This year marked the much anticipated return to TV with a limited 6 episode “event series” run. Some fans were ecstatic and some felt still unsatisfied. Personally, I was just happy to see the major cast return to the series and get back in the game, even if it was just for 6 episodes. Obviously, this was a test from Fox to see how it was received and due to the dazzling rating, I would say it went quite well. I hope that they continue this series with more episodes, but I have a feeling that if it does happen it will not be right away. Hardcore fans will have to keep hope and stick with this series cause the truth is still out there!

Official Premise: Almost 14 years after the original series run, the next mind-bending chapter of THE X-FILES is a thrilling, six-episode event series from creator/executive producer Chris Carter, with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson re-inhabiting their roles as iconic FBI agents FOX MULDER and DANA SCULLY. Mitch Pileggi also returns as FBI Assistant Director WALTER SKINNER, Mulder and Scully s boss, who walks a fine line between loyalty to these investigators and accountability to his superiors. This marks the momentous return of the Emmy®- and Golden Globe® Award-winning pop culture phenomenon, which remains one of the longest-running sci-fi series in network television history.

The BLu-ray presentation is a nice improvement over the earlier series, of course, due to the age of the older episodes. This new series packed some great visuals and really showed up its 1080p transfer. Same goes for the DTS-Master Audio 5.1 track, just hearing the theme song once again gave me chills. The special features are pretty solid as well. There are three commentary tracks on episodes, “Founder’s Mutation” with Chris Carter and James Wong, “Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster” with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and “My Struggle II” with Chris Carter, Gabe Rotter.

The rest of the bonus features include some featurettes and a gag reel and some deleted scenes. The first featurette is “Season X”, which runs just over 20 minutes and gives a series overview. “Monster of the Week: A Recap of the Wildest and Scariest from the Original Series” is a flashback to the original series with host Kumail Nunjiani. “The X-Files: Green Production” looks into this series’ efforts to be ecologically aware. Lastly there is a short film called “Grace” by Karen Nielsen, the series’ script coordinator.

Actors: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean
Directors: Ridley Scott
Number of discs: 2
Rated: PG-13
Studio: 20TH CENTURY FOX
DVD Release Date: June 7, 2016
Run Time: 151 minutes

Extended Edition: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4.5 out of 5 stars

When it comes to double dipping on their home video releases, Fox is the king! “The Martian” is the latest film to get a second life on Blu-ray with this Extended Edition release. This all-new extended cut features over 10 minutes of footage not shown in theaters. The film itself before this extension was already an amazing film! The new footage doesn’t really change the film in any way besides giving some new details about our characters. The real selling point of this new Blu-ray is that there is more than two hours of new behind-the-scenes content and the fact that it includes the original Theatrical cut as well. If you didn’t purchase this film originally when it was released, now is definitely the time to pick this up.

Official Premise: Nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Matt Damon), The Martian is a breathtaking sci-fi adventure directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Prometheus) and based on the #1 New York Times best-selling novel. When an American astronaut (Damon) is left behind during a mission to Mars, he must find a way to survive on the barren planet until a team of scientists can devise a rescue plan to bring him home!

The audio/video presentation of this film on Blu-ray is stunning. I could only imagine it would be topped by the 4K presentation on Blu-ray. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 really blew me away with the space scenes and overall sound delivery. The new special features include an audio commentary by renowned director Ridley Scott, writer/executive producer Drew Goddard and author of the novel Andy Weir. There are two mighty in-depth features looking into the science of the film. The first is “The Long Way Home: Making The Martian”, which runs nearly 80 minutes and the second is “The Journey to Mars 101” which runs over 2 hours, which is jam packed with information.

There are two NASA based featurettes including “Dare Mighty Things: NASA’s Journey to Mars” and
the shorter “Ridley Scott Discusses NASA’s Journey to Mars”. Lastly there are still a few deleted scenes left on the second disc as well as some theatrical trailers. That concludes the new content but also included is all the bonus features included in the original The Martian Blu-ray release as well, so set aside a good amount of time to get through all this wonderful content!

Creators: Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland
Starring: Justin Roiland, Chris Parnell, Sarah Chalke, Spencer Grammer, Kari Wahlgren, Brandon Johnson
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: June 7, 2016
Run Time: 220 minutes

Season: 5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4 out of 5 stars

If you haven’t heard of Rick and Morty, seriously just stop reading and watch this show immediately since it is literally one of the best cartoons to hit TV since “The Simpsons” (and feel free to quote me on that Cartoon Network). Adult Swim really has a huge hit on their hands with this show and I just honestly can’t get enough of it. The show has amazing replay value and I feel like I can watch it over and over and over. It is also so extremely quotable that sometimes I laugh completely out of the blue just randomly relating daily life situations to events from the show. Totally classic and must see! Can’t wait for season three later this year!

Official Premise: Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland) is still living with his daughter Beth’s (Sarah Chalke) family and causing more trouble than ever. This season the rest of the family, his son-in-law Jerry (Chris Parnell), grand-daughter Summer (Spencer Grammer) and grand-son Morty (Justin Roiland) are dragged into Rick’s intergalactic adventures, as he faces new threats and mysteries of his secret past are revealed. Can the family survive Rick’s insanity and all the chaos the universe throws at them?

Cartoon Network and Warner Home Video really stepped up their game for this Blu-ray release. Since they usually only go 1080i and a Dolby Digital 2.0 track for shows like “Adventure Time”. This second season of “Rick and Morty” comes stocked with a beautiful 1080p resolution with an
original aspect ratio: 1.78:1 and really kick ass HD Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track for each episode. Also they include a digital HD copy of the entire series to add to your streaming accounts.

There some good bonus content included for this season as well. Most importantly there are not only animatics for every episode but also audio commentaries for every episode with cast and crew. This is worth the purchase of the Blu-ray alone!! There is also a Behind the Scenes into the season as well as Deleted Animatic Sketches. Lastly a really amazing bonus that is given for us hardcore fans is an actual Plumbus Manual Premium included.

Cast: Mark Duplass, Katie Aselton, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas
Format: DVD
Rating: Not Rated
Number of Discs: 2
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: June 7, 2016
Genre: TV Series

Season: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

Let’s start with the fact that I am not a fan of football, fantasy football or sports in general, so right off the bat this show didn’t really call out to me. What I can appreciate though is a great cast including Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, who are some of my favorite comedy actors, as well as Katie Aselton and Jason Mantzoukas. There is a whole lot of talent here that makes this show worth checking out for sure. Unfortunately this is the last season but the show has a great run on FX with seven seasons. Whether you are just finding out about this show or a hardcore fan, it’s worth checking out.

If you aren’t familiar with the show here is a series premise: A partially scripted comedy which follows the lives of six men who belong to a fantasy football league. The men take their contest extremely seriously and often will do anything to gain an advantage or win at any cost. Their obsession with fantasy football bleeds into other activities of their daily lives, affecting their jobs and families. A variety of colorful characters from the local community, from local business owners to a homeless man, get caught up in this zany world of fantasy sports.

Here is a season premise: Huddle up for the final outrageously funny season of the fantasy football comedy that’s always out of bounds. This year, the scheming smack-talkers find themselves embroiled in a string of scandals, kicking off when Pete discovers that his ex-wife Meegan is sleeping with a fellow league member. Next up, Taco flies into the drone zone, Kevin and Pete play chicken with their private parts, Jenny gets slot-shamed and Rafi hooks up with a watermelon. From blind-spot shenanigans to fake-book deflategate, Season Seven hits a highpoint by sinking to new lows.

The first disc includes the following episodes season 7: “Other Draft, The”; “Draft of Innocence, The”; “Blind Spot, The”; “Deflategate”; “Bully, The”; “Beer Mile, The”; and “Trophy Kevin”. There are also some Deleted Scenes included on here as well. Disc 2 includes the following episdoes “Last Temptation of Andre, The”; “Yank Banker, The”; “Block, The”; “Adios y Bienvenidos”; “13 Stages of Grief, The”; and “Great Night of Shiva, The”. Lastly there are also more Deleted Scenes on this disc as well as a Gag Reel, Alt Nation and Taco Tones for fans of the series.

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Strawberry Shortcake: Campberry Stories DVD
Street Date: June 7, 2016
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Total Run Time: 66 minutes

DVD Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

Growing up in the 80’s and having a younger sister, there was no shortage of “Strawberry Shortcake” in our home. 30 years later and it is still extremely relevant and going strong. “Campberry Stories” is the latest DVD release in the series of episodes from this TV series. I  have to admit, this show honestly keep my attention when my daughter watches it. It is cute, funny and very colorful. So out of all the kids shows that I am “forced” to watch, this one is definitely one of easier ones to get through. Any fan of the series will want to pick up this latest collection of themed episodes.

Official Premise: It’s time for tall tales and small kindnesses in this berrytastic animated trio. Strawberry Shortcake and her pals are on their annual campout in Very Beautiful Meadow when they decide to see who can tell the most OUTRAGEOUS story. Plum, Cherry and Orange get things started with different made-up reasons to explain why they’re late to the party. Sour tells everyone an imagined adventure involving her and her sister, Sweet. And Apple tells the campers about a thrilling cross-country race… only she insists it really happened. It’s going to be a berry difficult decision to choose the best tale!

Fox has been putting out these DVDs in this series quite regularly. They are only on DVD, not Blu-ray but come with a bonus Digital HD copy, which is great to be able to stream on the road. The format for the DVD is Widescreen 1.78:1 and the audio tracks included are English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Surround Dolby Digital 2.0. There are some decent special features as well for the kiddos including “Exclusive Berry Sweet MASH UP videos”; “Meet Strawberry Shortcake & Friends”; “Best of Sweet Sunshine Adventures” and lastly some fun printable coloring pages and activity sheets to enjoy outside of the DVD as well.

Directors: David Greene, Marvin J. Chomsky, John Erman, Gilbert Moses
Starring: Ben Vereen, John Amos, LeVar Burton, Olivia Cole, Vic Morrow, Louis Gossett Jr.
Number of discs: 3
Rated: Not Rated
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: June 7, 2016

Series: 5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

“Roots” is a modern piece of TV history. This series had stood the test of time with some of the best performances since on TV ever. It is brutal sometimes, hard to watch but simple outstanding. Especially with the rebooted series which just aired on TV this past month, this is the perfect time to revisit this classic. It is presented in it’s original broadcast with all the program bumpers intact at the beginning and end of each episode. If you haven’t seen this series ever or not for a long time, now is the time to revisit this for sure!

Official Premise: His name was Kunta Kinte. Kidnapped from Africa and enslaved in America in 1767, he refused to accept his slave name of Toby. Heirs kept his heroic defiance alive, whispering the name Kunta Kinte from one generation to the next until it reached a young boy growing up in Tennessee. His name was Alex Haley. And he proclaimed Kunta Kinte’s name to the world. Through the lineage of one family, Haley and his Pulitzer Prize-winning ROOTS told a story for all America and the world. Seen by 130-million viewers during its premiere telecasts and the winner of dozens of awards, the David L. Wolper production remains a vital and engrossing entertainment landmark decades later.

This 40th anniversary release includes all the episodes in their original aspect ratio of 1:33, which has never looks better. Strangely the box specs say that the video is 1080i and that audio is Dolby Digital but that is definitely not the case because this series boasts a solid 1080p 24 frame video with sharp DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 sound, especially for a 40 year old TV series. You can tell that they actually did a lot of work to keep this series looking better than it ever has. The real bonus for me is that there is also a digital HD copy of the series included for you to watching streaming additionally.

The special features are also jam packed with content include two news features. The first is
“Roots: The American Story Continues” which features Whoopi Goldberg, James Earl Jones, Blair Underwood, Debbie Allen, Tavis Smiley, Shonda Rhimes and Reverend Al Sharpton talking about the effects of the series on their lives. The second is “The Cast Looks Back”, which includes original cast members including LeVar Burton, John Amos, Louis Gossett Jr., Ben Vereen, Cicely Tyson, Ed Asner, Sandy Duncan, Georg Stanford Brown and Lynne Moody share reflecting on the series.

Also included are a few great features like “Crossing Over: How Roots Captivated an Entire Nation”; “Connecting With the Past”; “The Struggle to Make Roots” and even an original screen test from Mr. LeVar Burton. Lastly there is an Alex Haley Interview by David Frost and a look back into the series with “Roots: One Year Later”. So if you are a fan of this series, you will not be let down with the additional content included in this very special 40th anniversary release.

Directors: Byron Howard, Rich Moore
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Alan Tudyk, J.K. Simmons, Nate Torrence
Rated: PG
Studio: Walt Disney Studios
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Run Time: 108 minutes

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray 4.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

“Zootopia” is the latest smash hit from Walt Disney Animation Studios! They have been nailing it one hit after another. The story is not only fun but also sets a good picture of the world and gives real lessons (for those that can see them). I really enjoyed this from beginning to end and in fact better with repeat viewings. I have a four year old and we watch one A LOT!!! The voice cast is phenomenal starring Ginnifer Goodwin from “Once Upon a Time”, Jason Bateman from “Arrested Development”, Idris Elba from “Prometheus”, Alan Tudyk from “Wreck-It Ralph” and also Oscar winner J.K. Simmons from “Whiplash”. Keep the hits coming Disney! Can’t wait for “Moana” this fall!

Official Premise: The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like r itzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when rookie Officer Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman), to solve the mystery.

As expected, like the film, the Blu-ray is gorgeous. The 1080p transfer is yet another winner from Disney. The colors are so amazing and vibrant in this film alone and it just pops out so well. Haven’t seen this in 3D but I can’t imagine it gets much better that this. The level of detail is also notable. I remember when “Monsters Inc.” came out and we saw the hairs moving on Sully and thought “Wow!” This movie improves on that 10x and just looks outstanding. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track also nails it completely. The score is amazing and the track is full and works great with the pop songs, thanks Shakira!

In terms of special features, there are some decent but short extras included here. First up, Research: A True-Life Adventure, which features the filmmakers playing in the real world in order to create this film’s characters and world. The Origin of an Animal Tale takes us through the film’s development from story to themes etc. Zoology: The Roundtables is a three-parter available with an introduction from the film’s star Ginnifer Goodwin aka Judy Hops. There are four short featurettes focusing on the film’s characters, the world created, the animation and the score as well as few Easter eggs. Lastly there is a music video for “Try Everything” by Shakira as well as a few deleted scenes and characters to check out wit intros from Rich Moore (the director).

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“The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour Country Special”
Glen Campbell
Shout! Factory
Not Rated
DVD Runtime: 92 min.

Our score: 4 out of 5 stars

For the first time on DVD join country superstar Glen Campbell for a spectacular celebration of music with “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour Country Special”. The DVD is being released via Shout! Factory and features a pair of episodes from Glen’s variety show which aired on January 1st 1972.The release is packed full of laughter and music including performances by Johnny Cash, June Carter, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Minnie Pearl.

A release in this genre is something that’s generally not on my radar being that I am not a huge country fan. However having heard my fair share of classic country growing up something about this DVD caught my attention. What stands out about this release is the caliber of guests who appear. Everyone from Merle Haggard and Jerry Reed to Johnny Cash and Buck Owners are on here performing either solo, with Glen or as a group. This was something I really enjoyed as the show comes off very light and fun. Throw in some skits by Minnie Pearl, Mel Tillis and beardless Merle Haggard and you have a fun 90 minute video.

I can’t say enough good things about Shout! Factory as they truly do a great job bringing back vintage television specials and series. “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour Country Special” is no exception as both the audio and video are crystal clear. There were one or two spots where the audio was a touch out of sync however it wasn’t enough to even cause a bump in the entertainment factor. If you grew up watching this show or are a fan of some of the artists I named who appear on this release definitely grab a copy as it’s a fun trip down memory lane.

Performance Listing:
1.) Country Boy- Glen Campbell
2.) Folsom Prison Blues- Johnny Cash & Glen Campbell
3.) Comedy Skit- Minnie Pearl, Johnny Cash & Glen Campbell
4.) Banjo Break- Glen Campbell, Buck Owens & Larry McNeely
5.) Comedy Skit- Mel Tillis & Glen Campbell
6.) Carolyn- Merle Haggard & Glen Campbell
7.) Comedy Skit- Glen Campbell & Mini Pearl
8.) I Saw the Light- The Mike Curb Congregation
9.) Comedy Skit- Glen Campbell & Mel Tillis
10.) Another Puff- Jerry Reed
11.) A Thing Called Love- Johnny Cash
12.) No Need To Worry- Johnny Cash & June Carter
13.) Comedy Skit- Mel Tillis & Glen Campbell
14.) Born To Lose- Glen Campbell, Jerry Reed & Larry McNeely
15.) Easy Living- Freddie Hart
16.) Comedy Skit- Glen Campbell, Mel Tillis & Minnie Pearl
17.) Comedy Skit- Glen Campbell, Minnie Pearl, Buck Owens & Jerry Reed
18.) I’ll Still Be Waiting For You- Buck Owens
19.) Merle Haggard’s Musical Impressions Medley: Mary, I’m Moving On, Love’s Gonna Live Here, Jackson- Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Buck Owens & Johnny Cash
20.) Medley- A Boy Named Sue, I’ve Got a Tiger By The Tail, When You’re Hot, You’re Hot, I Want To Go Home, Act Naturally, I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am, Long Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man, Oh Lonesome Me- Glen Campbell & Guests
21.) For The Good Times- Glen Campbell

Criminal Activities
Blu-Ray/DVD
Rated: Not Rated
Studio: Image Entertainment
Running time: 94

Media Mikes Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

It all comes down to bad luck. One day you’re wondering how your friend is doing, the next your at his funeral because he got run over by a city bus. Such is the day that Zach (Michael Pitt), Noah (Dan Stevens), Warren (Christopher Abbott) and Bryce (Rob Brown) have when they attend the above named friend’s funeral. Meeting up afterwards they catch up with each other’s lives. All are doing fine but, like everyone else, can surely use a bump in income. Bryce shares with the others a medical company his cousin works for is about to go public. He also notes that they have an FDA approved drug about to be released. His cousin has accumulated a lot of stock and is looking to sell some. The price: $200,000. Only Noah seems to have the necessary funds so he agrees to front the amount for the group. Things go well until it’s discovered that the drug company was a sham and now it’s time to pay the piper. And the piper wants his money NOW!

“Criminal Activities” is the cleverly written directorial debut of actor Jackie Earle Haley and is a gem that was sadly overlooked during it’s theatrical release last November. The film follows the young quartet as they meet up with their financial benefactor, Eddie (Travolta, in tip-top “Get Shorty” form). With interest, etc, the boy’s $200,000 debt is now doubled. Eddie gives the lads a chance to clear the books. It seems one of his underworld rivals has kidnapped a family member and Eddie wants to repay the favor by having the rivals’ nephew snatched. It’s obvious that the boys are in over their heads when none of them recognize the gangster’s name. “Google him,” they are told. They somehow manage to pull off the kidnapping but they end up grabbing much more than they bargained for.

A triumph on all levels, the film’s strongest point is it’s cast. All four young leads have energy to burn, as does Edi Gathegi, who plays their kidnapee, Marques. As the old pro, it’s so good to see John Travolta having so much fun with a role. Director Haley cast himself and Christopher Jay Gresham as Eddie’s henchmen, and their interaction with the others makes for some of the films more humorous moments. As a director, Haley keeps the story moving at a fine pace, making great use of both long tracking shots and the sights of the city of Cleveland at night. Robert Lowell’s script is witty and sarcastic, with a twist to rival “The Usual Suspects.” If you didn’t get the chance to see this last year, I hope you find the time to see it now. You won’t be disappointed.

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam and Jim Beaver
Directed By: Guillermo Del Toro
Distributed by: Universal
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Release Date: February 9th 2016

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 5 out of 5 stars

Universal did a disservice this past fall in marketing Guillermo Del Toro’s gorgeous gothic romance Crimson Peak as straight up ‘horror film’. It has its share of ghosts and oozes atmosphere but it’s far from the slasher genre. Hopefully this Gothic romance will find a larger audience as it makes way onto Blu-ray and DVD today.

Synopsis: Mia Wasikowska stars as Edith Cushing an aspiring ghost story author in 1901 Buffalo, New York. She’s won over by mysterious English baronet Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) who, along with sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), is seeking to do business with her father (Jim Beaver). Upon the brutal death of her father, Edith is off to England to become the Lady of the Sharpe’s ancestral home, the ominous Allerdale Hall. There, Edith contends with the decaying architecture, ghostly warnings and the Sharpes’ own secrets coming to light.

Blu-Ray Review: Crimson Peak was one of my favorite films of 2015 (you can read my full theatrical review here). Hiddleston and Chastain make for a formidable brother-sister duo opposite Wasikowska’s tenacious Edith whose character only grows stronger as the film progresses. The real achievement of the film however is Del Toro’s impressive production design team. From Tom Sanders’s meticulously detailed sets, especially the built-from-scratch rooms of Allerdale Hall–to Kate Hawley’s fairytale-ready costume designs, the film is visually jaw dropping. All the better then to see it again on blu-ray now where I was excited to pore over more details than I could catch quickly on the big screen.

In this regard the special features on this disc definitely deliver. Several featurettes cover every aspect of Peak‘s world particularly “A Living Thing” which sees the sets of Allerdale Hall worked and reworked from scale models to the final product over a five month period. Tom Hiddleston then offers a walking tour of “the biggest and most extraordinary set [he has] ever seen” in “Beware of Crimson Peak” as we see how functional the set was in action. His commentary adds somewhat wistfully that this was the last day the set was up, but what a relief this release sees them so fully documented.

Del Toro’s commentary track finishes off the extras and, as expected, is filled with the director speaking about influences and inspirations for the film whether from art or film history. The whole thing is worth a listen, but if you’re not so into commentary viewing I gleaned my five favorite trivia bits (spoilers, of course):

• The ghostly appearance of Edith’s mother in the opening of the film was based on Del Toro’s own mother’s experience in seeing his grandmother’s ghost on the very day of her funeral. Del Toro also speaks about having stayed in his own haunted hotel room in New Zealand when scouting locations for The Hobbit (when he was still attached to direct).
• In the New York party scene, Del Toro had to restructure the waltz performed by Thomas and Edith to be only performed by Hiddleston and Wasikowska, lest the production have to shell out over a million more dollars in upgrading his acting extras to ‘dancers’.
• The hallway of Edith’s childhood home is patterned in the same way as Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, a favorite of Del Toro’s.
• Del Toro decided he wanted to flop the gender norms of the Gothic Romance in Crimson Peak. In this spirit, he cast Charlie Hunnam’s Dr. Allan as ‘the damsel in distress’ in the latter sequences of the film (to which Hunnam eagerly agreed) and flipped what GDT dubbed ‘the nudity quotient’ in the intimate scene between Hiddleston and Wasikowska.
• As Edith gets further into danger at Allerdale Hall, the actual props around her were scaled up in proportion to Edith. Things like a wingback chair and the ominous teacup were made roughly 30% larger than they originally appeared. (No doubt inflicting some Wonderland deja vü for Wasikowska!)

Crimson Peak is available on Bluray and digitally now. Meanwhile, you can check out a look at some of the set featurettes from Universal Home Video below:

In order to celebrate this week’s release of “Kung Fu Panda 3” (which is amazing BTW), Dreamworks Animation is re-releasing the first two “Kung Fu Panda” films with over 80 minutes of new bonus content including an all-new 22 minute animated adventure, “Secret of the Scroll,” and an exclusive sneak peek of DreamWorks Animation Kung Fu Panda 3 as well as Digital HD copies of each film.

Official Premises: In DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black is perfect as the voice of Po, a noodle-slurping dreamer who must embrace his true self – fuzzy flaws and all – in order to become the Dragon Warrior. Black reprises his role as Po in Kung Fu Panda 2, the fiercely funny Academy Award-nominated sequel. In his biggest challenge since becoming the Dragon Warrior, Po must lead his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five, on a mission of epic proportions to defeat his most threatening rival yet!

This franchise features an all-star voice cast including Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride and Jean-Claude Van Damme. There is ZERO shortage of amazing talent in these films!

The special features included are a Martial Arts Awesomeness Music Video which features the best fight sequences in the beat of “Kung Fu Fighting”. “Mash-Up of Awesomeness: Slo-Mo” focuses the franchises more intense action scenes in slow-motion. There is a “Mash-Up of Blunders” which is basically a gag reel of Po’s most embarrassing moments. Lastly there is an all-new Kung Fu Panda 3 sneak peek with introduction by Jack Black rounding out the extras. If you have never purchased these films, might be a good time to pick them up!

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