turbo Archives - MediaMikes

Le Matos talks about scoring EXODE web series and movies TURBO KID and SUMMER OF ’84

Analog synths are the unstoppable weapons of the french canadian electronic band from Montreal, Le Matos. Its musical imprint is a powerful dancemachine, mix of pop melodies and melancholic sounds inspired by 80’s movie soundtrack composers such as Vangelis, John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, Shuki Levy and Goblin.

The band scored films like “Turbo Kid”, “Summer of ’84” and the recently released “EXODE”, the haunting sci-fi web series. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with the men behind the band, Jean-Philippe Bernier and Jean Nicolas Leupi to discuss their music, how they got their band name and what is it was like working on these films/web series.

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CD Review: Judas Priest “Turbo 30”

“Turbo 30”
Judas Priest
Sony Music
3 Discs

Our score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

British metal legends Judas Priest are set to reissue their 10th studio album “Turbo”. Originally released in 1986 the album incorporated a variety of new technical inventions which allowed the band to challenge their creativity and push their sound as a band forward. “Turbo 30” is being released via Sony Music and features recreated album art work, a re-mastered version of the “Turbo” album and an unreleased 2 disc live recording from the bands 1986 “Fuel For Life” tour.

Having reviewed the bands last reissue/live release I was anxious to delve into “Turbo 30”. The band and Sony spare no expense to make sure these re-releases are top notch and not just an opportunity to sell their back catalog. From the quad fold packaging to the recreated artwork and original photos just the looks alone of this release are enough to make me recommend it. Disc one of three features a re-mastered version of “Turbo” featuring tracks such as “Parental Guidance”, “Locked In” and “Turbo Lover”. Despite being an analog purist the re-mastered version of the album did sound quite good however, were the release really shined was in the bonus two disc live recording. Much like the re-issue of “Defenders of the Faith” in 2015 “Turbo 30” includes an unreleased live performance from the albums subsequent tour. These live recordings sound amazing and just shred through your speakers as they capture the band in their natural environment. Not only do you get live versions of songs from the featured album but you also get fresh versions of some of Priest’s biggest hits including “Heading Out to the Highway” and “Breaking the Law” to fan favorites “The Sentinel” and “Electric Eye”.

As Priest albums go “Turbo” is probably one of the least re-guarded of the bands 17 studio albums however, the presentation and the inclusion of the unreleased live performance on this 30th anniversary edition make it a decent pick up. Even fans who may dislike the studio album portion of the release will appreciate the quality of disc 2 and 3 as the band sounds great.

Disc 1 Track Listing:
1.) Turbo Lover
2.) Locked In
3.) Private Property
4.) Parental Guidance
5.) Rock You All Around the World
6.) Out in the Cold
7.) Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days
8.) Hot For Love
9.) Reckless

Disc 2 Track Listing:
1.) Out in the Cold
2.) Locked In
3.) Heading Out to the Highway
4.) Metal Gods
5.) Breaking the Law
6.) Love Bites
7.) Some Heads are Gonna Roll
8.) The Sentinel
9.) Private Property
10.) Desert Plains
11.) Rock You All Around the World

Disc 3 Track Listing:
1.) The Hellion
2.) Electric Eye
3.) Turbo Lover
4.) Freewheel Burning
5.) Victim of Changes
6.) The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)
7.) Living After Midnight
8.) You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
9.) Hell Bent for Leather

3D Blu-ray Review “Turbo”

Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Maya Rudolph, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Peña
Directors: David Soren
Number of discs: 3
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Release Date: November 12, 2013
Run Time: 96 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

When I first saw the trailer to “Turbo”, I wasn’t really blown away much. It does pack on hell of a sharp voice cast including Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Peña, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolf, Michelle Rodriguez and Samuel L. Jackson. Still I never ran out to see it in theaters similar to the rest of America who did the same thing. The film is pretty fun with a good heart and has some great visuals but also has a pretty weak plot. In terms of wow factor, the film looks amazing and is quite colorful but its message has just been done too many times before. When you look back at films like “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda”, it just doesn’t have that charm. Kids will enjoy it for the colorful presentation and parents will enjoy the voice cast and humor. Decent but not a classic.

Official Premise: From the makers of “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda”, “TURBO” is a high-velocity 3D comedy about an underdog snail whose dreams kick into overdrive when he miraculously attains the power of super-speed. But after making fast friends with a crew of streetwise, tricked-out es-car-goes, Turbo learns that no one succeeds on their own. So he puts his heart and shell on the line to help his pals achieve their dreams, before Turbo-charging his own impossible dream: winning the Indy 500.

DreamWorks is releasing this film in a Deluxe Edition combo pack, which includes a Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + UltraViolet HD digital copy. One thing I do have to recommend for this film is its 3D presentation, which is very impressive. It works well with the film’s fast pace action and amazing visuals. I watched this film a second time in the 2D transfer with my 17 month old daughter, which she enjoyed quite a bit, it was still enjoyable but lacked that animated dazzle. The 1080p on either transfer are just easily still one of the sharpest of the year. Top that with a super high energy DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track and this film does not disappoint in the A/V department. Dreamworks always delivers top notch with their animated films, no question.

In terms of special features, “Turbo” is lacking in rear of the race. A few decent featurettes but nothing amazing. “Champion’s Corner” is a sports newscast interview with Turbo. “Smoove Move’s Music Maker” includes six fun music video clips for “Speedin'”, “The Snail is Fast”, “Back to Indiana”, “Jump Around”, “Let the Bass Go” and “Eye of the Tiger”. “Team Turbo: Tricked Out” is a very short look into the film’s characters. “Meet Tito — Deleted Scene” is presented in hand-drawn form and introduced by director David Soren. David also introduces a storyboard for one of the film’s most critical scenes, “The Race”. “Be An Artist!” is a short look into each of the character with the Head of Character Animation Dave Burgess. “Shell Creator” is an interactive extras for viewers to create their own shells. Lastly there is a theatrical trailer included.

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: 3d, bluray, review, turbo

Check out Dreamworks’ “Turbo” in 60 seconds

Big dreams and even bigger laughs! Your favorite speedy snail is now available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, complete with a limited edition Turbo pullback racer toy and super-charged bonus features!

For more info or to buy now, go to http://bit.ly/Turbo_BluRayComboTR

Enjoy all the family fun of “Turbo” on Blu-ray November 12!

FROM THE CREATORS OF MADAGASCAR AND KUNG FU PANDA

Perfect Gift for the Holidays, the Comedy-Adventure Arrives on Blu-ray™
Deluxe Edition and DVD November 12 with Turbo Pullback Toy Racer

LOS ANGELES, CA – Laugh it up with the visually stunning, heartfelt comedy-adventure for fans of all ages this holiday season! “Fresh, fast and funny” (Lou Lumenick, New York Post) and garnering four stars from Shawn Edwards with Fox TV, DreamWorks Animation’s TURBO has been hailed by critics as “pure family fun” (Jeff Craig, Sixty Second Preview) receiving outstanding audience reaction and a coveted “A” CinemaScore.

Directed by David Soren and from the team behind family favorite franchises MADAGASCAR and KUNG FU PANDA, TURBO is “a movie both kids AND adults will adore!” (Deidre Behar, Clevver News) and features laugh-out-loud performances from an incredible voice cast of today’s biggest stars: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Peña, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolf, Michelle Rodriguez and Samuel L. Jackson.

Experience big dreams and even bigger laughs when TURBO arrives on Digital HD™ on October 22 and on Blu-ray 3D™ , Blu-ray™ and DVD on November 12. Taking the fun-filled spirited adventure of the film, the Blu-ray™ and DVD are packaged with a TURBOpullback toy racer, while supplies last, making it a great gift for the holidays!

DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo Blu-ray™ Deluxe Edition

The TURBO Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy Deluxe Edition includes an extra holiday gift, theTURBO pullback racer toy for a limited time while supplies last.

Feature film in high definition

Blu-ray Exclusive Special Features:

		●	Smoove Move’s Music Maker – Watch action-packed music videos featuring songs from the film
		●	Meet Tito – Director David Soren provides an introduction for a scene that was deleted from the film.
		●	The Race – Director David Soren provides an introduction for a storyboard sequence that eventually made it into the film. Viewers can even see picture-in-picture comparison to the final cut.
		●	Shell Creator – Create your own shell from select-able parts

Additional Special Features:

		●	Champions Corner – Host Paul Page interviews Turbo one-on-one to hear all about his racing techniques and inspirations!
		●	Be An Artist! – Dave Burgess, Head of Character Animation on the film, shows the audience how to draw: Turbo, Whiplash, Skidmark, Burn, Smooth Move, White Shadow, Chet and Customizable Racers.
		●	Team Turbo: Tricked Out – See Turbo and all the rest of the snail crew in a break- down of the cool components that make up each of their shells.
		●	TURBO F.A.S.T Trailer from TV show – First look at upcoming new TV show this December
		●	Holiday Favorites – Sneak Peeks
		●	World of DreamWorks Animation – Music videos from your favorite DreamWorks Animation feature films

DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo Blu-ray™ 3D Deluxe Edition

The Turbo Blu-ray™ 3D + Blu-ray™ + DVD + Digital Copy Deluxe Edition includes the following:

Feature film in high definition and 3D

All the Blu-ray™ and DVD content listed above

DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo DVD

The single disc DVD includes an extra holiday gift, the TURBO pullback racer toy for a limited time while supplies last plus the following

Feature film in standard definition

Special Features:

		●	Champions Corner – Host Paul Page interviews Turbo one-on-one to hear all about his racing techniques and inspirations!
		●	Be An Artist! – Dave Burgess, Head of Character Animation on the film, shows the audience how to draw: Garden Turbo and Racing Turbo.
		●	Team Turbo: Tricked Out – See Turbo and all the rest of the snail crew in a break- down of the cool components that make up each of their shells.
		●	World of DreamWorks Animation
		●	Previews

ABOUT DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

DreamWorks Animation creates high-quality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series and live entertainment properties, meant for audiences around the world. The Company has world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced filmmaking technology and techniques. DreamWorks Animation has been named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE® Magazine for five consecutive years. In 2013, DreamWorks Animation ranks #12 on the list. All of DreamWorks Animation’s feature films are produced in 3D. The Company has theatrically released a total of 27 animated feature films, including the franchise properties of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Puss In Boots, and The Croods.

ABOUT TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is the industry leading worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox produced, acquired and third party partner film and television programing. Each year TCFHE expands its award-winning global product portfolio with the introduction of new entertainment content through established and emerging formats including DVD, Blu-ray™ and Digital HD™. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.

Film Review “Turbo”

Starring the voices of: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti and Michael Pena
Directed By: David Soren
Rated: PG
Running Time: 1 hour 36 minutes
20th Century Fox

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Dreamworks Animation has been nipping at the heels of Pixar for a while now. With 26 animated releases under their belt, they’ve come really close and even exceeded when pitted against the Willy Wonka’s of computer animation. Flicks like “Shrek”, “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon” have shown the creative pool at Dreamworks can hit a homerun in terms of both critical acclaim and box office numbers. “Turbo” will not be one of those.

Theo (Reynolds), who also goes by Turbo, is a garden snail who pounds energy drinks (as much as a snail can) and watches his hero, Indy 500 Champion Guy Gagne (Bill Hader) on TV at nights. Turbo is inspired by Gagne and wants to race just like his hero. The only thing stopping him is his mundane life spent sorting bad and good tomatoes in the garden. Also holding him back is his brother Chet (Giamatti) who aggressively tells him his dream of racing are ludicrous. And, of course, the obvious fact that he’s a snail. After a freak accident that melds his body with nitrous oxide, he goes from moving an inch a minute to well over 200 mph. Amidst the chaos of figuring out his newfound powers, Turbo and his brother are discovered by Tito (Pena). Tito runs a taco stand in a decaying strip mall with his brother. In his spare time he races snails with surrounding business owners. Just like Turbo, Tito has big dreams as well as ideas to promote the taco stand.

If this movie sounds a tad uneven, that’s because it is. I’m not saying that “Turbo” isn’t an entertaining kid’s flick. It is. The animation is quite gorgeous with some precise background detail. The first half of the movie is surprisingly creative as we see the daily life of snails, including their assembly line style of harvesting tomatoes. Ryan Reynolds is one of those actors that I believe does not get enough credit for the roles he does. He really brings a fun and youthful energy to Turbo and you can sense he’s giving his all every time he voices one of Turbo’s reactions. It took me almost forty-five minutes to realize Bill Hader was putting on his best suave French voice as the prideful Gagne. As for Paul Giamatti, you just can’t go wrong with him as the misguided voice of reason during times of chaos. The three leads deliver but there’s still one little problem. They’re buried beneath a slew of characters.

By the end of the movie, I wasn’t quite sure who the story was about anymore. Turbo meets five other snails, voiced by Snoop Dogg, Samuel L. Jackson, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz and Michael Bell. They all seem to be fighting for attention when they’re on-screen. The same problem occurs when the business owners of the decrepit shopping area, voiced by Luis Guzman, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong and Michelle Rodriguez, make an appearance. By the time the Indy 500 rolls around, all that charm Reynolds channeled into Turbo is lost among too many obnoxious snail one-liners and monotonous store owners.

For kids, the whole “Never give up on your dreams” theme will be fresh, but their parents will see that theme coming within the first five minutes. This isn’t a memorable children’s movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not a decent film to take your kids to. Luckily there’s enough humor for adults and their wee ones to appreciate. Also, Jackson gleefully pays homage to an earlier movie role of his. That being said, if your child gets the joke, I might have to question your parenting skills. The writers do their best to show respect to the sport of racing, but they also manage to be in on the joke that, yes…you’re making one giant left turn 800 times. “Turbo” won’t take the checkered flag when put against some of the other kid-friendly films this summer but, even on a bad day, Dreamworks can still stay in the race.

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Filed Under: Film Reviews Tagged With: film, review, turbo

Book Review “The Art of Turbo”

Author: Robert Abele
Hardcover: 150 pages
Publisher: Insight Editions
Release Date: June 18, 2013

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I have to admit, I was not too excited for “Turbo”. I do have a sweet spot for DreamWorks’ animated films though, since they have never let me down. Well, the day I received this book was also the same day I finally saw a trailer for this film. After seeing the trailer, I was excited to get home and cut right into this book. I have to say I was pretty impressed and now I am excited to jump the light and catch this film (Get it? A little racing humor…Hello?) The film itself looks extremely fun and very visually impressive. What else would you expect from the studio that brought us the “Shrek” and “Madagascar” films. So if you are expecting that from the film, “The Art of Turbo” will not let you down as it comes stocked with some amazing artwork from the industry’s top talents and an impressive look behind-the-scenes at this new CG-animated feature.

Here is a quick premise of the film, so you know what to expect “Turbo is a snail with big dreams. Obsessed with speed and all things fast, he is an outsider within his slow snail community and a constant embarrassment to his cautious older brother, Chet. Then one fateful day a freak accident suddenly vests Turbo with the power of incredible speed. So begins his extraordinary journey to achieve the impossible: racing against the best that IndyCar has to offer.” I was impressed to see that this book kicks off with a foreword by the voice of Turbo himself, Ryan Reynolds. Also the director of “Turbo”, David Soren, gives an encouraging Preface to this book as well. The setup for the book itself is split into four sections. The first is “Characters”, with focus on over 15 characters from the film. Second is “Locations”, which covers 10 different places from the film like “San Fernando Valley” and “Indianapolis Motor Speedway”. The last two sections are “Vehicles” and “Building a Sequence”.

I feel that the book is a very easy read and since it is split into a few sections, it is also easy to navigate through the behind-the-scenes process of the film. Since the film is very visual and colorful, the artwork really gives a very diverse collection of character backgrounds, concept art, design inspirations, and tons of great information about the production. I think that if you considering seeing this film, this would be a great way to lock in the deal and great some great anticipation. On the other side, this would be a great follow-up to check out after actually seeing the film as well. The author Robert Abele is a film critic for the Los Angeles Times. His only other companion book to date is “The Twilight Saga: The Complete Film Archive”. So I was a little concerned about this one but he delivered a very entertaining book and I most definitely will keep an eye out for his future releases.

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Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: art, book, review, turbo

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Le Matos talks about scoring EXODE web series and movies TURBO KID and SUMMER OF ’84

CD Review: Judas Priest “Turbo 30”

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Enjoy all the family fun of “Turbo” on Blu-ray November 12!

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