Actors: Robert Englund, Yancy Butler, Nigel Barber
Directors: A.B. Stone
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: August 4, 2015
Run Time: 92 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: None

When it comes to giant monsters fighting other giant monsters, I definitely have to admit this is a weak match-up to me. I love all these cheesy dumb Syfy Originals like the Mega Shark and Sharknado franchises. The Lake Placid series was supposed to end with “The Final Chapter” back in 2012, but if you are a horror fan you know that it is never the true end as long as there is a demand. This is now the fifth film in both the “Lake Placid” and “Anaconda” franchises. They are definitely cheesy and nothing special, but all in all they are fun. And who doesn’t want to see these two franchises face off?!

Official Premise: Anacondas large enough to crush an SUV. Crocodiles strong enough to leap onto speedboats. When they’re not hunting for human prey, they’re more than willing to take on each other. Get ready for a non-stop bloodbath unlike anything you’ve seen before in this heart-pounding battle between mutated crocodiles and genetically engineered anacondas. Packed with hot sorority girls, big guns, and jaws massive enough to swallow a human in one bite, this is one screaming good time!

The film was made-for-TV and aired on Syfy earlier this year. It brings back “Lake Placid: The Final Chapter” stars Robert Englund (aka Freddy Krueger) & Yancy Butler (also from Lake Placid 3), so it is cool to see these character return. Englund is always great. This DVD (no Blu-ray planned) brings an unrated version of the film which slightly differs from the TV cut. There are no special features though included on this DVD.

Starring: Frank Welker, Mindy Cohn, Grey Griffin, Matthew Lillard, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley
Director: Tony Cervone
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: July 21, 2015
Run Time: 78 minutes

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

“Scooby-Doo! And KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery” is one hell of an amazing mash up. It takes two of the greatest things I grew up with “Scooby Doo” and the music of Kiss and brings them together. I literally couldn’t be happier. It also features six classic KISS songs and most importantly an all new original song from the band just for this film. If you love “Scooby Doo!” and KISS, this is a match made in heaven! This is such a blast!

Official Premise: When a ghoul begins to terrorize an amusement park, the Mystery Inc. gang come head to head with the legendary rock group, KISS, who claim they’re also there to solve the mystery. Now the two groups must learn to work together as the clues lead them on a cosmic journey to another dimension.

The voice cast are impressive as well. We see Kiss on board featuring Demon (Gene Simmons), Starchild (Paul Stanley), Catman (Eric Singer), and Spaceman (Tommy Thayer). Guest voice performances include appearances from Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Darius Rucker, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Jennifer Carpenter and Pauley Perrette.

Warner Bros delivers a comob pack with a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD Ultraviolet copy. The 1080p transfer is super impressive. The colors are outstanding. The star of the film is easily the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. The KISS classic tracks, including “Shout It Out Loud,” “I Was Made For Loving You,” and “Detroit Rock City”, all sound AMAZING!

The special features though are a little lacking unfortunately. There are two classic 1978 episodes from the “Scooby-Doo” archives, “To Switch a Witch” and “The Diabolical Disc Demon”. “Are You a Scooby or a Shaggy?” is a super brief chat with voice cast including KISS, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes, and Darius Rucker. Lastly there are some KISS bloopers in “KISS Cut-Ups”. I was really hoping for more features about the involvement of KISS and bringing these two classic pop culture icons together.

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Voice Cast: Michael C. Hall, Benjamin Bratt, Tamara Taylor, Paget Brewster, Jason Isaacs, Tahmoh Penikett, C. Thomas Howell, Penny Johnson Jerald, Richard Chamberlain, Josh Keaton, Carl Lumbly
Directors: Sam Liu
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: July 28, 2015
Run Time: 72 minutes

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

“Justice League: Gods and Monsters” features a super cool alternate universe where Superman is the son of Zod. Batman is actually Man-Bat and Wonder Woman is the, God of War,  Princess Bekka. I really enjoyed this latest original movie in the DC animated universe and have always been a fan of DC Comics’ Elseworlds stories. Plus this film sees the return of animation legend Bruce Timm delivering a super cool new view of Justice League. A must see for an DC Comics fan!

Official Premise: “Justice League: Gods & Monsters” features a Superman born of General Zod’s blood, a Batman with a healthy dose of bat in the man, and a Wonder Woman rising from the ranks of the New Gods. This ain’t your daddy’s Justice League. They are as likely the world’s saviors as Earth’s despotic rulers. When a group of famed scientists experience untimely “accidents,” a government task force follows the trail of clues to the Justice League — and into a high stakes game of intrigue, mystery and action that asks the question: How do you serve justice to those above the law?

The voice cast of this film is nothing short of absolute epic and easiest the best accumulation of talent in a DC Animated Universe film.  The voice cast includes Michael C. Hall (Dexter) as Batman, Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order, 24) as Superman, Tamara Taylor (Bones), as Wonder Woman; Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds), as Lois Lane; C. Thomas Howell (E.T., Southland), as Dr. Will Magnus; Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter films, Dig) as Lex Luthor, Richard Chamberlain (Dr. Kildare, The Thorn Birds) as Highfather, and Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) as Steve Trevor.

Warner Bros is delivering this film as a combo pack with a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD UltraViolet. The 1080p transfer is decent and delivers with the CG effects and animation. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds great and no complaints there. “Alternate Realities: Infinite Possibilities” features various executives talking about the DC Comics’ Elseworlds stories. “Calculated Risk: The Making of Gods and Monsters” is a great behind-the-scenes look.

“The New Gods” talks about the film’s character designs and approach to putting the film together. In “From the DC Comics Vault” there are two animated episodes including “Phantoms” from Legion of Super Heroes and “Brave New Metropolis” from Superman: The Animated Series. Lastly there is a super rad sneak peak at the next DCU animated original movie, “Batman: Bad Blood”, which will introduce Batwoman.

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Starring: Thomas Middleditch, T.J. Miller, Zach Woods, Martin Starr, Kumail Nanjiani, Matt Ross, Amanda Crew and Josh Brener
Creator: Mike Judge
Rating: TV-MA
Studio: HBO Studios

Season: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars

Whatever Mike Judge touches is instant gold. Season one of “Silicon Valley” was a real blast to watch. It was smart and very funny. Well, Season two didn’t just improve on the first, it trumped it. The show delivers non-stop laugh out loud moments and introduces my new favorite character Russ Hanneman played by the amazing Chris Diamantopoulos. This is no question one of the best shows on television right now and I am glad to report that HBO has already renewed “Silicon Valley” for a third season, so keep an eye out for more next year.

Official Premise: After taking the tech world by storm with their debut at TechCrunch Disrupt last season, Richard and his Pied Piper team look ahead to a big future–one that’s immediately soured by legal woes and petty revenge plans from Hooli overlord Gavin Belson–in Season 2 of Mike Judge’s hit HBO comedy series. This season, Monica finds herself torn between her allegiance to Richard and her job working under a new head honcho; meanwhile, the presence of Richard’s departed longtime pal Big Head looms large, as Gavin decides to use him to his fullest potential.

Redeemed through VUDU, there are two additional extras included. The first is a preview the season with Erlich, Richard and other characters from the series discussing season 2 of the show. There is also an extra called “Invitation to the Set”, which features Mike Judge and the stars of the show discuss what to expect season 2. iTunes has a few other extras included but that is all for VUDU. HBO still has yet to deliver the extras digitally that are available with their Blu-ray/DVD releases.  Currently at this time there is no Blu-ray/DVD release date for season 2 of “Silicon Valley”, so if you want to see it and don’t have HBO, then I would definitely recommend checking out the Digital HD streaming option.

Starring: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer
Directed By: Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
Distributed by: Paramount
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 85 Minutes
Release Date: July 21st

Film: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Extras: 5 out of 5 Stars

What We Do in the Shadows was released here back in February and still remains my favorite comedy of 2015. From the makers of HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary from New Zealand which sees the vampire genre through the eyes of four decidedly uncool flatmates who are also undead. If the thought of yet another vampire film has you reaching for your crucifix, I would implore you to hold off just for these 85 minutes. Despite its slight runtime, Shadows manages to cleverly hit upon all the classic vampire tropes in new and hilarious ways. Rather than Interview with the Vampire, we get interviews with some vampires by way of Christopher Guest or “The Office”.

Taika Waititi is our main vampire, Viago, a friendly fop of only 379 who likes to keep the flat neat even while draining victims of their blood. To start off, he calls a flat meeting where he and ex-torture-master Vladislav (Clement) can confront their youngest roomie Deacon (Brugh, playing 183 years old) about his lax approach to dish duty. Fourth roommate, Petyr, a Nosferatu-like creature who lives in a stone tomb in the basement declines his invite to the meeting. It’s a brilliant intro to the dynamics of this most unusual household before the ‘film crew’ are able to go further into each character’s origins, heartaches and peculiar hobbies. Their routine of hitting up Wellington, NZ nightspots and scouting for potential victims is broken up when one of those potentials is accidentally turned into a new vampire Nick (Gonzalez-Macuer). Nick brings with him a mortal BFF Stu, a deadpan company IT guy, who charms the household into not eating him by simply being cooler and showing the vamps how the internet works. Meanwhile Nick flies around town trying pick up lines like “I’m Twilight” blowing their cover and generally–and fortunately for the viewers – stirring up trouble while blowing their cover.

The film culminates at the Unholy Masquerade where all the communities of supernatural Wellington beings convene. It’s a brilliant finale which allows the filmmakers to expand their lens from vampires to zombies, goblins and werewolves, causing one to wonder what’s going on in all those other shadows over there?? Rhys Darby in particular has a standout bit part as the leader of the werewolves who are just doing their best to keep calm. The comedy works on pretty much every level and was a welcome return to the sensibilities that I loved so much in “Flight of the Conchords”.

Extras 

As seems to be the case with mockumentaries, ‘Shadows’ has a wealth of extra footage that was left on the cutting room floor. This blu-ray is bursting with additional characterization of everyone on the screen, that is pretty much as hilarious as what made it to the final cut. Kudos go to the filmmakers for keeping the final film as tight as it is when they had this much content at their hands. Additionally, while the supernatural gags blend seamlessly into the comedy, the film has a whole lot of practical special effects at work–from blood splatters, to men on fire and rotating entire sets– that the behind the scenes footage highlights. Clements and Waititi’s original short version of the film completes the disc, showing the seeds of what eventually made it to feature length.

Actors: Ryan Dillon, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, David Rudman, Eric Jacobson, Matt Vogel
Directors: Ken Diego, Kevin Clash, Jim Martin, Joey Mazzarino, Ted May
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Sesame Street
DVD Release Date: July 7, 2015

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Having a young child, the world of Sesame Street is well known in our house. My daughter loved Elmo growing up. As she is getting older and starting to learn her numbers the latest DVD is coming at the perfect time for her. “Count on Elmo” is a great learning tool to aid kids in their process of getting to know their numbers.

Official Premise: Kids can rely on their Sesame Street friends for lots of fun, laughs and counting in Sesame Street: Count on Elmo. When the Noble Counting Prize committee is looking for the World’s Greatest Counter, Elmo knows that his friend The Count is perfect for the prize. Elmo, Grover, Abby and Cookie Monster try and capture The Count’s amazing counting skills on camera so they can enter him in the contest, but everything goes awry! Will The Count win the prize or will it be a Count-astrophe? Kids will learn about friendship and math concepts such as numbers, counting, and enumeration.

It’s crazy to think that Sesame Street has been around for more than 45 years and I am sure it will be around for another 45 years easy. These DVD’s are important and teach very important lessons for our kids. This DVD includes over 2 hours of fun and education for kids (and parents) to enjoy. This DVD also features the new song “Count on Friends” and a bonus video “Pre-School is Cool: ABC’s With Elmo”.

Starring: Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, Neal McDonough, Shirley Knight, Eduardo Verástegui, D.B. Woodside
Director: Andy Fickman
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 14, 2015

Film: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

There is no denying that Kevin James is talented. He has his moments where he is quite funny. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” was a decent film at best but it never warranted a sequel. Even though I love Vegas, this film was a complete waste of time and really unnecessary. Just like “Grown Ups 2,” another film that James was in that wasn’t needed. Still though, if you liked the first film you might, stress might, enjoy this film.

Official Premise: In this sequel, in which Kevin James reprises the role of Paul Blart, the security guard is headed to Las Vegas to attend a Security Guard Expo with his teenage daughter Maya (Raini Rodriguez) before she departs for college. While at the convention, he inadvertently discovers a heist – and it’s up to Blart to apprehend the criminals.

The Blu-ray comes with a combo pack with a Blu-ray + DVD + UltraViolet copy included. The 1080p transfer is sharp, courtesy of Sony who consistently delivers impressive releases. Even though not a film needed to be mastered in 4K, Sony definitely takes pride in their Blu-ray transfers. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds good and works well even with the cheesy action.

The special features are nothing special but include a gag reel, some deleted scenes, and a few very short features. The first is “Security Force: The Cast of Paul Blart 2” has cast chatting about the sequel. “Back in the Saddle” discusses the use of the Segway back in this film. “How to Make a Movie” is a chat with the director Andy Fickman. “Le Reve” introduces the Vegas location into the mix. “No Animals Were Harmed” looks into the bird fight scene. Lastly there is a photo gallery included and trailers.

Starring: Daryl Hannah, Edward Furlong and Vinnie Jones
Directed By: Mark Atkins
Rated: R
Studio: ARC Entertainment
Running Time: 89 minutes

Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Just looking at the cover of “Awaken” induces nostalgia. Names like Vinnie Jones, Edward Furlong, and Jason London conjure memories of many cheesy action movies, some of them classics. So is “Awaken” the who’s who of action movies? No. It’s more like “Repo Men”, “Cube”, and “Surviving the Game”, got together for a story idea, got drunk, and went off the notes they scribbled down in a drunken stupor. While the creators may not have been in the most sober state of mind while writing this story, a couple of beers could help you enjoy this movie more if you plan on checking it out.

Imagine waking up in the thick jungle woods of an island. Your immediate instinct is to figure out where you are, but a mysterious group of paramilitary men are hunting you down. Before you can even wake from the daze or having the surrounding features set-in, burly killing machines are giving chase to you. That’s the nightmare that Billie (Natalie Burn) finds herself in. She comes across a group of survivors, who’ve been on the island for a while, but they offer no help to her predicament, in terms of an escape route or what is they’re actually doing there.

In some movies, like “Predators”, this notion is exciting because we as an audience have some kind of inkling about what’s going on, but “Awaken” certainly takes its sweet time to reveal the seedy reasons they’re on this island. But when a movie takes its sweet time, it can be engaging if the mystery is intriguing enough. Maybe the mystery in “Awaken” would have been more mesmerizing if I didn’t read the synopsis which made the “twist” a dead giveaway. There’s a lot that “Awaken” does wrong, that’s very obvious from the first half of the movie, but this disjointed hodgepodge has a campy charm.

It’s not necessarily good acting, but when you have Robert Davi arrive and sell every moment he’s on screen, it’s entertaining. A veteran actor can make do with what they have and many in this movie know how to sell the cheese. Daryl Hannah, who shows up later in the movie, may have needed a reality check about what kind of movie she was filming; although it should have been obvious to her in one scene where she’s awaiting the results of surgery by playing with a monkey doll surrounded by stock bad guy goons. Outside of that miscast, everyone is well aware how to react.

I’ve certainly watched better action movies, but I’ve certainly been subjugated to dull ones. “Awaken” smartly casts Natalie Burn as the leading lady. Not a well-known name and certainly not a name I know off the top of my head. But the ballet performing actress certainly has a knack for action. “Awaken” ultimately falls into the category of enjoyable, but forgettable. It would have done well in the 80’s where cheeseball action movies with outlandish concepts thrived.

“A MusiCares Tribute to Carole King”
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Shout! Factory
Run Time: +/-60 min
Format: Blu-Ray and DVD

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

On January 24th, 2014 Carole King was honored as the 2014 MusiCares Person of the Year. During the event King along with a long list of super star guests performed some of Kings most celebrated songs from a career spanning decades. “A MusiCares Tribute to Carole King” is the film presentation of those performances which in include appearance by LeAnn Rimes, Gloria Estefan, James Taylor and Lady Gaga just to name a few. Proceeds from the sale of this disc will provide essential support for MusiCares, which ensures that music professionals have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need.

“A MusiCares Tribute to Carole King” is the latest MusiCares release from Shout! Factory who has previously released tribute concerts dedicated to Paul McCartney, Barbara Streisand and Neil Young. Much like previous releases in the MusiCares series the concert is made up of a number of guest’s performances all paying tribute to the selected artist for that year. King is certainly more than deserving of the award and you can certainly tell the impact she has had on all music simply by looking at those who appear in her honor. Songs like “You’ve Got a Friend” performed by Lady Gaga and “Natural Woman” performed by Alicia Keys are definitely worth checking out as is my own personal favorite “Beautiful” performed by Sara Bareilles, Zac Brown, Jason Mraz and Raining Jane.

All in all a pretty entertaining release however if you’re looking for something a little bit more such as bonus content or interviews you won’t find it here. What you do get its 60 minutes worth of star studded entertainment which at times outweighs the lack of those missing special features.

Track Listing:
1.) Hi De Ho (That Old Sweet Roll-) LeAnn Rimes and Steven Tyler
2.) So Far Away- P!nk and Paul Mirkovich
3.) I Feel the Earth Move- Train
4.) Its Too Late- Gloria Estefan
5.) Love Makes the World/Where is the Love?- will.i.am and Leah McFall
6.) Beautiful- Sara Bareilles, Zac Brown, Jason Mraz and Raining Jane
7.) Way Over Yonder- Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill and Darlene Love
8.) Where You Lead- Jesse & Jay
9.) Crying in the Rain- Miguel and Kacey Musgraves
10.) Natural Woman- Alicia Keys
11.) Been to Canaan- Jennifer Nettles
12.) I’m Into Something Good- Amy Grant
13.) It Might As Well Rain Until September- Miranda Lambert
14.) One Fine Day- Martina McBride
15.) Up On the Roof- James Taylor
16.) Home Again- Carol King, Moez Dawad and Ahmad A. El Haggar
17.) Sweet Seasons- Carol King and James Taylor
18.) Hey Girl- Carol King and James Taylor
19.) Will You Love Me Tomorrow- Carole King and James Taylor
20.) Jazzman- Carole King and Tom Scott
21.) I Feel the Earth Move- Carol King and Cast Ensemble

“The Decline of Western Civilization Collection”
4 Disc Blu-Ray and DVD
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Shout! Factory

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

The highly-celebrated and long-awaited trilogy known as “The Decline of Western Civilization” is now for the first time available as a one complete collection. Available on both Blu-Ray and DVD the great people at Shout! Factory has compiled all three films from the series along with a 4th disc containing tons of bonus footage and interviews. And if that wasn’t enough accompanying the 4 disc collection is a 40 page booklet containing rare stills and an essay by rock historian Domenic Prioret.

Having grown up renting these films from the local video store I was instantly drawn back to the films when I heard they would be being released as a complete collection. Each of the films was just as I remembered. From the classic interviews with Black Flag which shows of their meager rehearsal/living quarters to Germs front man Darby Crash making breakfast and X’s mid tattoo trance like ramblings part 1 of the series had me again clamoring for more. Part 2 transports you back to the late 80’s L.A. metal scene, a scene that will go down in infamy as younger bands like Poison and Motley Crue mixed with long time rock staples like Kiss, Alice Cooper and Aerosmith. It’s all here just as I remembered from Ozzy Osbourne spilling his drink to W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes pouring Vodka on his head while barely floating in a swimming pool. Part 3 of the series was never released for home viewing however knowing the film existed I had seen bits and pieces over the years so to have the film available now was a personal highlight. The third film showcases performances by Final Conflict, Naked Aggression and The Resistance while shining a light on important topics such as youth homelessness, alienation and alcoholism.

Fans of both music and gritty documentaries will certainly want to check out this release. If not for the sheer nostalgia of past musical era’s but also for the importance that these films played to an internet-less generation who without these films maybe not have ever known that there were youth out there with similar trials, tribulations and ideas/goals. Though each of the films feature new 2k high-definition scans of the originals that though look sharp and crisp still retain the appeal of the originals. The only negative I found with the release was that often times the sound was quite unbalanced leaving interviews to be quite low while performances were quite loud. Even though this caused me to put some wear and tear on my remote/TV I enjoyed every minute of the 4 discs.

Actors: Adrian Holmes, Jason Momoa, Jeananne Goossen, Adam Butcher
Directors: David Hewlett
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Ketchup
DVD Release Date: June 9, 2015
Run Time: 85 minutes

Our Score: 2 out of 5 stars

Even though  I run a media site, I am a computer geek at heart. I am also a sucker for space horror films. “Debug” looked like it had some potential, especially being from the producer of “Splice” and “Haunter” but is poorly executed. The cast is impressive starring Adam Butcher (“Wolves”), Jeananne Goossen (“The Vow”), Adrian Holmes (“Elysium”) and Jason Momoa (“Game of Thrones”). Momoa is always great but seems a bit out of place in this one. The story is also not groundbreaking and doesn’t deliver anything new to the genre, so this one falls into the file and forget category for me.

Official Premise: In this tale of deep space cyberhorror, six young computer hackers are sent to work on a derelict space freighter as a part of a work release program. They quickly fall prey to the ship’s vengeful artificial intelligence, a program that would kill to be human. They are helpless to defend themselves as it silently roots out their deepest desires to use against them in the most imaginative and horrific ways. It takes a very determined and brilliant hacker, Kaida (Goossen), to battle this malevolent entity and send it back to cyber hell.

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Actors: Danielle Panabaker, Matt O’Leary, George Finn, John Rhys-Davies, Amin Joseph, Jason Spisak, Sharon Maughan, David Figlioli and Judith Drake
Director: Bradley King
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Xlrator
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Run Time: 103 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

Since her role in The CW’s “The Flash” TV series, Danielle Panabaker has really hit the spotlight. “Time Lapse” is a really neat sci-fi horror thriller with a cool time travel angle twisted in. The film also has an impressive co-starring cast including: Matt O’Leary, George Finn, John Rhys-Davies, Amin Joseph, Jason Spisak, Sharon Maughan, David Figlioli and Judith Drake. Take a little bit of “The Twilight Zone” mixed with “Memento”. Worth checking out for you time travel junkies.

Official Premise: A science fiction thriller with a mind-bending premise, TIME LAPSE explores the possibilities of time travel via a camera that takes pictures 24 hours into the future. When three friends discover this mysterious machine, they conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop and tear their relationship apart.

The Blu-ray comes with a both solid 1080p transfer and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. You can tell that even though this is an indie, it has some impressive production values. XLrator is known for usually deliver bare bones special features but this release has some decent extras. There is an in-depth look behind-the-scenes into the makinng of “Time Lapse”. There are two commentary tracks from the filmmakers. There is a “Nuts and Bolts” guide to how to make an indie film. Lastly there are some deleted scenes also equipped with filmmaker commentary.

Actors: Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Elliott Gould, Peter Boyle, Tim Curry
Directors: Hiroyuki Morita
Rated: G (General Audience)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Run Time: 75 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

“The Cat Returns” is a 2002 spin-off of the Studio Ghibli film “Whisper of the Heart”, which is one of my favorites.The film featured a fantastic US voice cast including Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Tim Curry, and Elliott Gould. This film followed in the path of “Spirited Away” but didn’t catch on like the Oscar winner. This film is quite magically though and really is very entertaining. I have a feeling that my 3 year old is really going to like this film as well, so I can’t wait to introduce her to this. If you are looking for a sweet fantasy tale, this is a good one.

Official Premise: “The Cat Returns” is a spectacular animated journey to a world of magic and adventure. Haru, a schoolgirl bored by her ordinary routine, saves the life of an unusual cat, and suddenly her world is transformed beyond anything she ever imagined. The Cat King rewards her good deed with a flurry of presents, including a very shocking proposal of marriage to his son! Haru embarks on an unexpected journey to the Kingdom of Cats where her eyes are opened to a whole other world and her destiny is uncertain. To change her fate she’ll need to learn to believe in herself and, in the process, she will learn to appreciate her everyday life.

Disney released this film as a combo pack with a Blu-ray and DVD included. I would have lvoed to see a digital copy but Studio Ghibli films have been yet to be released digitally. The 1080p transfer is solid though and the animation looks fantastic. The colors are crisp and the line detail is well done. There are two audio options, the original Japanese and English dub, both with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks.

The special features are decent but not amazing though inline with most of the past Ghibli Blu-rays. There are the Original Japanese Storyboards and Original Japanese Trailers included, as well as TV Spots. There is also “The Making of The Cat Returns” looking into the production, a little short. Lastly, there is “Behind The Microphone”, which features the US voice cast discussing about their respective roles.

Actors: Daveigh Chase, Lauren Holly, Michael Chiklis, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Mardsen
Directors: Hayao Miyazaki
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Run Time: 125 minutes

Film: 5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

“Spirited Away” is one of my all-time favorite films, animated or not. Studio Ghibli in fact has delivered some of my other favorites including “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Howl’s Moving Castle”. Hayao Miyazaki is a genius and this is his BEST film. “Spirited Away” won Best Animated Feature Oscar at the 75th Academy Awards, which it very much deserved. This film was also very important for Japanese anime because it was brought to the spotlight due to the Oscar win and also brought Studio Ghibli from and center in the United States. Just because, this is a “cartoon” doesn’t mean it is for kids, it is aimed for both adults and kids. I watch this film a few times a year and I cannot recommend it any higher.

Official Premise: From Hayao Miyazaki, one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animated cinema, comes the Oscar(R)-winning triumph (2002, Best Animated Feature Film), filled with astonishing beauty and epic adventure, a dazzling masterpiece for the ages. “Spirited Away” is a wondrous fantasy about a young girl, Chihiro, trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call on the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world. an unforgettable story, brimming with creativity, “Spirited Away” will take you on a journey beyond your imagination. It’s a fantastic tale the whole family will want to experience over and over again on Disney Blu-ray!

Disney’s US Blu-ray of “Spirited Away” is outstanding (the film was previously released in Japan only). This is literally the best Studio Ghibli US Blu-ray release to date. The 1080p transfer is perfect. The colors are gorgeous and the animation looks flawless. There are two audio options both in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The original Japanese language track and Disney’s English dub are honestly both amazing. I have watched both and they are each wonderful in their own way.

The special features are good but do not feature much new content from previous releases. The only HD feature is to watch the film consisting of the Original Japanese Storyboards presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and an Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track with optional English subs. “The Art of Spirited Away” features Jason Marsden discussing this beautiful film. “Behind the Microphone” features US voice cast discussing their roles. There is the Nippon Television Special, which focus on the studio and the film runs just over 40 minutes. Lastly there is an intro from John Lasseter and Japanese trailers and TV spots for the film.

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco, Sienna Miller, Nick Frost, James Marsden
Director: Ken Scott
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Run Time: 92 minutes

Film: 1 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Poor Vince Vaughn. Man o man, I actually love me some fun non-stop riffing Vince Vaughn but his recent films have consisted of some very bad choices. “Unfinished Business” is easily one of the worst. He also teamed up with an odd group consisting of  Tom Wilkinson and Dave Franco (who is completely not funny at all), which makes it worse for him. This should have been called “Unfunny Business” since there wasn’t a single joke in the entire film that I even cracked a smile for. A BIG pass!

Official Premise: Vince Vaughn stars as a hard-working entrepreneur who travels to Europe with his two associates (Dave Franco, Tom Wilkinson) to close the most important business deal of their lives. But the journey quickly spins out of control as the hapless trio encounters all kinds of crazy obstacles, including Oktoberfest bar brawls, hotel foul-ups, foreign GPS directions, and a global fetish festival. In the end, these guys gone wild might just land the deal…if they can survive the trip. Bottoms up!

Fox delivered this film with a Blu-ray plus digital HD copy. Nothing special on the Blu-ray specs here, the 1080p transfer was typical comedy blah, nothing special. Same goes for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, which didn’t deliver anything special either. The special features surprisingly were better than the entire film (but not by much). There is about 30 minutes of deleted and alternate footage, a photo gallery including the trio being funny and lastly “Show Me Your Business” has the cast discussing their experience.