Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Matt Walsh, Sufe Bradshaw, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole
Rating: TV-MA
Studio: HBO
Release Date: July 20, 2015

Season: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

Normally, I would never find myself watching a political satire like “Veep” but I am so glad that I have since it is easily one of the best shows on TV right now. It is not only smart but hysterical at the same time. This show has been developed so well over its run and in it’s fourth season it is the best that it has been to date. The characters are fleshed out so well and only getting better. Can’t wait for season five to start!

Official Premise: Having become president after her predecessor stepped down, it remains to be seen whether Selina Meyer’s team will outlast that of America’s shortest-serving president, William Henry Harrison. With the stakes for Selina and her team higher than ever before, she must still run for election, and in the weeks to come they will grapple with how to make her seem “presidential.”

So since we are reviewing this season for digital HD, which was available since July 20th, there are still a good amount of special features included. Like the also recently released season for Silicon Valley, only thing missing that I would like would be commentary tracks. Included are two featurettes, exclusive, never-before-seen deleted scenes and a trailer. “Great Debates” includes some very funny moments from the season. “Invitation to the Set” features Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the cast previewing the season.

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Sofía Vergara, Michael Mosley, Robert Kazinsky, Matthew Del Negro, John Carroll Lynch
Director: Anne Fletcher
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: August 11, 2015
Run Time: 87 minutes

Film: 1 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

“Hot Pursuit” is literally an embarrassment of a film. It is sad to say that this film stars Academy Award® winner actress Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line,” “Legally Blonde”) and Sofía Vergara, who won be over in “Chef” last year, completely lost me after this disaster. Even running less than 90 minutes, this film is painful to watch. Stay away from this unless have absolutely nothing better to do…and then still stay away.

Official Premise: In Hot Pursuit, an uptight and by-the-book cop (Witherspoon) tries to protect the sexy and outgoing widow (Vergara) of a drug boss as they race through Texas, pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen. The film is directed by Anne Fletcher (The Proposal) from a screenplay written by David Feeney (TV’s New Girl) and John Quaintance (TV’s Ben & Kate).

Warner Bros is delivering this film as a combo pack. The 1080p transfer is good enough and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround works as well for the action that’s here. The extras are nothing special either with three features included. “The Womance” looks into Reese and Sofía’s team-up. “Say What?” has the actresses trying to speak each others languages. “Action Like A Lady” is an action montage. Lastly there is an Alternate Ending included.

Own “Hot Pursuit” on Blu-ray Combo Pack or DVD August 11th or Own it Early on Digital HD July 28th

Actors: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Octavia Spencer, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller
Directors: Robert Schwente
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Run Time: 119 minutes

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

“The Divergent Series” is really not one of my favorite franchises in Hollywood right now. The first film was rather painful to watch, the sequel is a bit more entertaining. I do believe that Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars, The Descendants) is quite awesome though and definitely a really talent actress (but a girls gotta make a buck I guess). There is more action in this and I am sure it looks cool in 3D (thought not reviewed here) but still lacks the compelling story and drive to keep the audience interested. But I guess we still have two more films in this franchise left to try and make a good film.

Along with co-star Theo James (Underworld: Awakening), this film does back a solid co-starring cast including Octavia Spencer (The Help), Jai Courtney (Terminator: Genesis), Ray Stevenson (Thor), Zoe Kravitz (Mad Max: Fury Road), Miles Teller (The Fantastic Four), Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars, Carrie), Maggie Q (TV’s “Nikita”), Mekhi Phifer (Showtime’s “House of Lies”), Daniel Dae Kim (TV’s “Hawaii Five-O”), Ashley Judd (Double Jeopardy), Naomi Watts (King Kong) and Kate Winslet (Titanic)…too bad it can’t translate this film.

Official Premise: Based on Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times best-selling novel Insurgent, The Divergent Series: Insurgent raises the stakes for Tris (Woodley) as she searches for answers and allies in this star-powered, action-packed second installment of the Divergent series. On the run and targeted by ruthless faction leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet), Tris fights to protect the people she loves, facing one impossible challenge after another as she and Four (James) race to unlock the truth about the past—and ultimately the future—of their world.

Lionsgate is releasing the film as a combo pack with a Blu-ray + Digital HD. Even though the film is not great, the Blu-ray is very impressive. The 1080p transfer is really solid and the CGI looks sharp. I am curious to check this out in 3D since the virtual reality scenes could be cool. The audio track is also impressive boosting a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, which does rock with the action and Joseph Trapanese’s score. If your system can’t support Atmos, it will convert till Dolby TrueHD 7.1, which does sound amazing still.

The special features are actually quite impressive even though it kicks off with a lacking audio commentary with Producers Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher. Not a super chatty piece but decent. The save grace is a kick-ass feature extra “Insurgent Unlocked: The Ultimate Behind-the-Scenes Access”, which has picture in picture options and bunch of production featurettes. “From Divergent to Insurgent” features cast and crew interviews. “The Others: Cast and Characters” focuses more on the characters. “Anatomy of a Scene: The Train Fight” looks into this film. “The Peter Hayes Story” looks into Miles Teller’s character. Lastly “Divergent: Adapting Insurgent to the Screen” features some more interviews and behind the scenes footage.

Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: August 18, 2015
Run Time: 79 minutes

Shorts: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars

We all know that everyone buying this Blu-ray would be mostly for “Frozen Fever”, one of Disney’s biggest hits ever. Honestly, it is an amazing short and we have easily watched it ten times already. The new song is easily one of the best song Disney has ever created. Other than “Frozen Fever”, this Blu-ray contains two never before released on video shorts including “Tick Tock Tale”, and “Lorenzo”. “Paperman” is one of my favorite shorts…probably ever, same goes for “Tangled Ever After”, which is full of laughs and “Feast”, which definitely gets a smile on your face. I can easily watch this shorts over and over.

Official Premise: From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes an extraordinary new collection of award-winning and beloved short films featuring Disney’s Frozen Fever, starring Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Sven and Kristoff, and the Oscar®-nominated Lorenzo (Best Animated Short, 2004). The Short Films Collection includes contemporary shorts starring classic characters, such as the groundbreaking 2013 Mickey Mouse cartoon, Get A Horse! And the holiday treat Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa, as well as celebrated Oscar winners Paperman (2012) and Feast (2014). Enjoy them together for the first time in this must-own collection with all-new extras including an inside look at the Disney Animation shorts, featuring introductions and interviews with the acclaimed filmmakers themselves.

Here are the complete list of the short films included: “Frozen Fever” (2015), originally premiered with “Cinderella”; “Feast” (2014), originally premiered with “Big Hero 6”. “Get A Horse!” (2013), originally premiered with “Frozen”; “Paperman” (2012), originally premiered with “Wreck it Ralph”; “Tangled Ever After” (2012), originally premiered with “Beauty and the Beast 3D”; “The Ballad of Nessie” (2011), originally premiered with “Winnie the Pooh”; “Tick Tock Tale (2010)”, previously unreleased; “Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa” (2010), originally premiered on ABC TV; “How to Hook Up Your Home Theater” (2007), originally premiered with “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”; “The Little Matchgirl” (2006), originally premiered with “The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition DVD”; Lorenzo (2004), originally premiered with “Raising Helen”; and lastly “John Henry” (2000), originally premiered in “Disney’s American Legends”.

Disney delivered a great release with a combo pack including a Blu-ray + DVD and digital HD copy. The 1080p transfer is flawless as expected from Disney. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is also amazing especially with Paperman’s score and Frozen Fever’s song. There are a few bonus features for nothing great. There are intros from the filmmakers before each short but they are like 30 seconds each and don’t give much info at all. There is also an interview with “Big Hero 6” star T.J. Miller. Lastly there is a final short film, “Runaway Brain” starring Mickey Mouse…but it is only available online using the Disney Movies Anywhere app or website.

Actors: Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson, Mitchell Hope
Directors: Kenny Ortega
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: July 31, 2015
Run Time: 112 minutes

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

When I heard about Disney making a film focusing on the kids of their most famous villains, I knew that this was going to be a good idea. Top it off with extremely talent actors like Dove Cameron from Disney’s “Liv and Maddie”, Cameron Boyce from Disney’s “Jessie” and Booboo Stewart from “The Twilight Saga” and you’ve got a winner…not to mentioned that you have director and choreographer Kenny Ortega of the “High School Musical” franchise on board. The film is a bit long running near two hours but I enjoyed the talent and music was really run. My daughter has not stopped singing “Evil Like Me” since watching it. Highly recommended for Disney families.

Official Premise: Meet the next generation of villains in Disney’s DESCENDANTS! Imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost, home of the most infamous villains who ever lived, the kids of Maleficent (Kristen Chenoweth), the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil have never ventured off the island… until now. Sent to idyllic Auradon to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, these villainous kids must execute a plan that helps their evil parents achieve “world domination” once again! Will Maleficent’s daughter (Dove Cameron) and the other rebel teens follow in their rotten parents’ footsteps or will they choose to embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?

The special features on the DVD include exclusive dance rehearsal footage and bloopers. The dance numbers in the film are fun and very fun to watch. So it was cool to see some of the work that went into making them. The bloopers were also a blast. My daughter loved watching them…in fact, we watched them a few times actually. Also include with the DVD is a free “Isle of the Lost” bracelet, which my daughter also hasn’t taken off since receiving it and makes sure to have it on during the three times we have watching this film this week. I hope that Disney high tails it with a sequel for next summer because we want more.

Actors: Robert Vaughn, David McCallum
Number of discs: 11
Release Date: August 4th, 2015
Run Time: 1560 minutes

Season: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

To celebrate the release of the new reboot hitting theaters this August, Warners is releasing the original 1960’s series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” on DVD in The Complete First Season. This release includes all 29 episodes. Even though this international spy spoof show was released over 60 years ago, it still has its charm and is a blast to watch. The series was nominated for 7 Emmy Awards over its four seasons.  If you are looking to catch up before you head to the theaters, this is a great way to get introduced or refreshed on the series that inspired the upcoming movie.

Official Premise: In this hit spoof of the spy genre, actors Robert Vaughn and David McCallum play the roles of top agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin who use their charm, wit, and a never-ending assortment of gadgets to defend the world from evil, chaos and bad taste. The successful series also stars Leo G. Carroll as Alexander Waverly and features guest stars such as William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, of Star Trek, Kurt Russell, Ricardo Montalban and longtime comedy favorite Ken Murray. From trying to save the world from fear gas to trying to save themselves from a pack of bloodthirsty cheetahs, these serious spies bring the suspense and fun to life. You may even forget it’s in black and white!

“The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete First Season” is just the beginning. I would expect the following three seasons to be released probably by the end of year or early next year. These episodes have been digitally remastered and look great. Personally, I would have loved an upgrade to Blu-ray but this is a good release. There are also some special features included. There is a featurette called “The Cloak and Swagger Affair: The Untold History of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”. There is the original pilot shown in color “Solo”. Lastly there is a bonus feature called “U.N.C.L.E. V.I.P.S: A Celebration of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Guest Stars”, of which there were MANY!.

Episode List:
1. The Vulcan Affair
2. The Iowa-Scuba Affair
3. The Quadripartite Affair
4. The Shark Affair
5. The Deadly Games Affair
6. The Green Opal Affair
7. The Giuoco Piano Affair
8. The Double Affair
9. The Project Strigas Affair
10. The Finny Foot Affair
11. The Neptune Affair
12. The Dove Affair
13. The King of Knaves Affair
14. The Terbuf Affair
15. The Deadly Decoy Affair
16. The Fiddlesticks Affair
17. The Yellow Scarf Affair
18. The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair
19. The Secret Sceptre Affair
20. The Bow-Wow Affair
21. The Four-Steps Affair
22. The See-Paris-And-Die Affair
23. The Brain-Killer Affair
24. The Hong Kong Shilling Affair
25. The Never-Never Affair
26. The Love Affair
27. The Gazebo in the Maze Affair
28. The Girls of Nazarene Affair
29. The Odd Man Affair

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