New releases for Dec. 13, 2011: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Fright Night,” “The Walking Dead, Vol. 15″
There are less than two weeks left until Christmas, and for cinephiles, several soundtrack albums and well-reviewed movies are out this week for home listening and viewing.
In the CD section, movie soundtracks dominate, from the score from the blockbuster “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ to Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa’s music from and inspired by “Mac & Devin Go to High School.” Jonsi’s music for “We Bought a Zoo,” John Williams’ for “The Adventures of Tintin” and Hans Zimmer’s from “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” also are due.
Among the new DVDs, most critics praised the sleeper hit “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” the remake “Fright Night,” the animated sequel “Kung Fu Panda 2″ and Chinese director Hark Tsui’s Sherlock Holmes-esque “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.”
For comics fans, “The Walking Dead, Volume 15,” Marvel’s “X-Statix Omnibus” and the finale “Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 27″ are among the new selections on the bookshelf.
Here are more options for new CDs, DVDs and books out this week, from Amazon.com, VideoETA.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Carter Burwell, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, The Score.”
Rammstein, “Made in Germany.”
Anthony Hamilton, “Back to Love.”
John Williams, “Music from the Motion Picture The Adventures of Tintin.”
Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Stage Whisper.”
Hans Zimmer, “Sherlock Homes: A Game of Shadows Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.”
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa, “Mac & Devin Go to High School: Music From and Inspired by the Movie.”
Smokey Robinson, “The Solo Albums: Volume 6.”
Jonsi, “Music from the Motion Picture We Bought a Zoo.”
DVDs
Circumstance
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Family Guy: Volume 9
Fright Night
Kill Katie Malone
Kung Fu Panda 2
A Legend Is Born: Ip Man
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Smell of Success
Tanner Hall
Books
The Walking Dead, Volume 15: We Find Ourselves by Robert Kirkman
Covert Warriors (Presidential Agent Series #7) by W. E. B. Griffin
D. C. Dead (Stone Barrington Series #22) by Stuart Woods
The Devil’s Elixir by Raymond Khoury
Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 27 by Hiromu Arakawa
X-Statix Omnibus by Peter Milligan
Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowen
Star Wars The Old Republic Explorer’s Guide: Prima Official Game Guide by Mike Searle
Once Upon a Time: A Collection of Classic Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm
-BAM
DVD review: “Spongebob Squarepants: The Complete Seventh Season”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Spongebob Squarepants: The Complete Seventh Season”
The long-running adventures of a certain energetic, pineapple-dwelling sea creature wackily continue with “SpongeBob Squarepants: The Complete Seventh Season.”
The four-DVD set includes all 50 cartoons from the 26 episodes that aired from July 19, 2009, to Feb 26, 2011. It adds up to more than nine hours of the perpetually cheerful sponge’s eccentric bubble-blowing, jelly-fishing exploits, although several episodes already have been released on assorted DVD compilations.
Since Nickelodeon aired about 4 ½ hours of “SpongeBob SquarePants” in a single recent day, parents who feel like they and their children already get more than the recommended daily allowance of madcap deep-sea antics might be reluctant to add “The Complete Seventh Season” to their DVD collection.
But Fanatic followers of the yellow hero’s escapades will rejoice that the new collection marks the first time in years that an entire season of the show has been gathered in a single set rather than released in volumes.
The start of the seventh season coincided with the wildly popular cartoon’s 10th anniversary, and like many venerable shows, “SpongeBob” seems to have become more inconsistent with age. Some installments effervesce with the cartoon’s trademark off-kilter hilarity, including the double-episode “SpongeBob’s Last Stand,” in which SpongeBob (voice of Tom Kenny) and his starfish pal Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) channel the protest songs of the ‘60s to try to stop the construction of a super-highway that will destroy their beloved Jellyfish Fields.
In a clever play on the title character’s dual nature, SpongeBob literally gets an “Abrasive Side” when he wants to learn to say no to his friends, and my favorite characters, elderly superheroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy (Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway) get starring roles in a pair of uproarious time-bending adventures.
But “SpongeBob” is scraping Bikini Bottom with clunker cartoons like “Big Sister Sam,” with Patrick’s even more dim-witted sibling paying a visit and causing chaos with her bullying ways, and “Trenchbillies,” which is just another tired outlet for mocking drawling, snaggle-toothed Southern stereotypes.
Bonus features: Several 30- to 90-second animated shorts based on the episodes “Back to the Past,” “Legends of Bikini Bottom,” “The Great Patty Caper” and “SpongeBob’s Last Stand.”
— BAM
DVD review: “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” Blu-ray + DVD
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” Blu-ray + DVD
Johnny Depp’s oddly charming Capt. Jack Sparrow takes his rightful place at the helm of “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” but more bloated storytelling threatens to sink the latest installment in the blockbuster franchise.
The fourth film tosses overboard Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner, Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann and several related periphery characters, but unfortunately, “On Stranger Tides” doesn’t get the streamlining previous overblown sequels “Dead Man’s Chest” and “At World’s End” desperately needed.
Director Gore Verbinski bowed out of the fourth movie in the seafaring saga, but not before new helmer Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) plundered his “Pirates” penchant for too many characters, too much action and too many quests within the larger hunt for the Fountain of Youth.
“On Stranger Tides” comes in with Capt. Jack making one of his improbably clever escapes, which this time involves hijacking a vicious London court so he can free his old first mate Gibbs (Kevin McNally).
But Jack is quickly scooped up on behalf of King George II (the excellent Richard Griffiths), who wants to take the wily swashbuckler’s map of the Fountain of Youth so that pirate-turned-privateer Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) can claim Ponce de Leon’s legendary prize for the English.
The Spanish have already taken up the search, which gets a particularly bloodthirsty competitor when the famed pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane) hears a zombie prophecy that gives him just two weeks to live.
Jack is tricked into joining the fearsome buccaneer’s crew by crafty former flame Angelica (Penelope Cruz), who happens to be Blackbeard’s long-lost daughter. Along with actually finding the fountain, the pirates must track down the components for the special life-giving ritual: Ponce de Leon’s special silver goblets and, even worse, a tear from a mermaid, who in this tale are ferocious flesh-eating sirens rather than sweet-tempered half-fish ladies.
With Depp’s always-entertaining Capt. Jack officially becoming the star pirate, “On Stranger Tides” sets the franchise back on course but is too waterlogged to match the giddy thrills of the first film, 2003’s “Curse of the Black Pearl.”
Blu-ray features: Lego animated shorts, blooper reel and Disney Second Screen, which allows viewers to see behind-the-scenes photos, illustrations and videos on their iPad or computer while watching the film. Although Second Screen can be more cumbersome than, say, Warner Bros. Maximum Movie Mode, which in my experience offers much more interesting bonus material in a sort of picture-in-picture format, Disney’s approach is perfect if you have one person who just wants to watch the film and another who wants to get the behind-the-scenes look.
— BAM
New releases for Nov. 29, 2011: Hot Chelle Rae, “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” “Friends with Benefits,” “The Smurfs,” “Hedy’s Folly”
Just a friendly reminder that there’s less than a month until Christmas.
Here is a list of the new CDs, DVDs and books out this week, in case you need gift ideas:
CDs
Hot Chelle Rae, “Whatever.”
Yes, “In the Present: Live From Lyon.”
Broadway cast, “Follies: New Broadway Cast Recording.”
Kylie Minogue, “Aphrodite: Les Folies” (2 CD + DVD).
Various Artists, “Songs of Anarchy: Music from Sons of Anarchy Seasons 1-4.”
Gorillaz, “The Singles Collection: 2001-2011” (CD+DVD).
Trey Songz, “Inevitable.”
DVDs
30 Minutes or Less
30 Rock: Season 5
The Art of Getting By
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Friends with Benefits
The Future
Hot in Cleveland: Season Two
One Day
Our Idiot Brother
Seven Days In Utopia
The Six Million Dollar Man: Pilot TV Movies & Season One
Smallville: The Complete Tenth Season
The Smurfs
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Books
Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Richard Rhodes
The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon
The Drop (Harry Bosch Series #17) by Michael Connelly
Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis
Fate’s Edge (Edge Series #3) by Ilona Andrews
Catch Fire: How to Ignite Your Own Economy by Douglas Scott Nelson
Frost Wolf (Wolves of the Beyond Series #4) by Kathryn Lasky
Legend by Marie Lu
-BAM
DVD review: “DreamWorks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury” Blu-ray + DVD
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“DreamWorks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury” Blu-ray + DVD
DreamWorks Animation continues its tradition of revisiting its top franchises at various holidays, returning to the Viking hamlet of Berk for a Christmasy celebration with “Gift of the Night Fury” and delving deeper into the “Book of Dragons” with its new short film double pack.
The studio’s 2010 Oscar-nominated animated feature “How to Train Your Dragon” still flies high on my list of favorite movies of the past year, and the 22-minute seasonal tale “Gift of the Night Fury” gives another chance to experience the charming characters, engaging storytelling and exhilarating flying scenes of the film adaptation of Cressida Cowell’s book series.
As the title indicates, “Gift of the Night Fury” owes no small thematic debt to O. Henry’s classic tale “The Gift of the Magi,” as resourceful teen Hiccup (voice of Jay Baruchel) and the other Viking denizens of Berk prepare to celebrate their first Snoggletog, the community’s winter holiday, since making peace with the local dragon population.
But just as the Christmas-like merriment reaches its apex, all the dragons inexplicably fly away, except for Hiccup’s sleek buddy Toothless, whose damaged tail prevents him from soaring without his human pal’s help. The kind of high-quality short that alleviates the long wait for the 2014 full-length sequel, the new adventure packs plenty of holiday warm fuzzies, good humor and animated cuteness into its short runtime.
“Book of Dragons” is less a fully formed story than a light-hearted opportunity to expand on one of the key scenes of “How to Train Your Dragon,” in which Hiccup skims through his people’s encyclopedic record of the various types of the giant reptiles. The different varieties of dragons add so much visual and narrative interest, and the 18-minute short explores the seven classes of the fearsome creatures with intriguing detail and silly Looney Tunes-esque humor.
The Blu-ray offers an interactive version of the Book of Dragons, along with an animators’ commentary. The DVD-ROM comes with guidelines for creating several craft projects such as a replica Book of Dragons, Snoggletog party favors and paper dragons.
Other bonus features include “Gobber’s Training Secrets” vignettes, deleted scenes and a preview of the DreamWorks Dragons online video game. Each double pack comes with a code that grants access to the game.
— BAM
New releases for Nov. 22, 2011: “The Wayman Tisdale Story” documentary debuts on DVD and CD/DVD
Wayman Tisdale
A story of human courage in the face of adversity, the documentary “The Wayman Tisdale Story” is now available on DVD and CD/DVD from Rendezvous Music/Mack Avenue.
Embodying his life’s approach of compassion, courage, and optimism, “The Wayman Tisdale Story” is a feature-length documentary that offers a detailed account of the life of the late basketball star, jazz musician and Tulsa resident Wayman Tisdale. Told through his own words, “The Wayman Tisdale Story” journeys through Tisdale’s life from this childhood as a preacher’s son to his battle with cancer.
Rendezvous Music complements the telling of Tisdale’s story with a soundtrack featuring 13 tracks, including the previously unreleased track, “Slam Dunk,” produced by Jeff Lorber, and “Cryin’ For Me,” which was written and performed as a tribute to Wayman by fellow Oklahoma musician Toby Keith.
While attending Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Tisdale became one of the most highly touted high school basketball players in the country. After high school he played basketball at The University of Oklahoma, where he became the first player in college basketball history to become a first team All-American in his freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons. After winning the gold medal in the 1984 Olympic games, Tisdale decided to forgo his senior season at Oklahoma and entered the 1985 NBA draft. Over the next 12 years, Tisdale became an NBA star while playing for the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns.
A self-taught musician, Tisdale began playing the bass guitar during his father’s Sunday services. “He just always had a strong musical side and it was very important to him,” Michael Jordan explains in the documentary. As his basketball career was ending, he turned his focus to his self-described “first love” with the release of his debut jazz album, “Power Forward,” which climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard’s contemporary jazz charts. In his short musical career, he released nine eclectic jazz albums—”Power Forward” (1995), “In The Zone” (1996), “Decisions” (1998), “Face To Face” (2001), “Presents 21 Days” (2003), “Hang Time” (2004), “Way Up!” (2006), and” Rebound” (2008) and the posthumous “The Fonk Record” (2010)—four of which hit No. 1 on the jazz charts.
In 2007, Tisdale began a two-year battle with bone cancer, including chemotherapy and the amputation of part of his right leg. Presented with a debilitating condition, Tisdale used his faith, music, and positive outlook on life to help others through the Wayman Tisdale Foundation, established to assist individuals in need of prosthetic limbs who could not afford them. Wayman Tisdale passed away May 15, 2009 at the age of 44.
Earlier this month, Tisdale was posthumously inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee.
Featured at multiple film festivals throughout 2010, the documentary garnered Best Documentary accolades from the Park City Film and Music Festival and International Christian Film Festival, Best Sports Documentary from the Los Angeles Sports Film Festival, Audience Choice Award Runner-up at the Pan African Film Festival and the 2010 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Award.
To read my review of “The Wayman Tisdale Story” soundtrack, click here.
Here is a list of additional CDs, DVDs and books, from Amazon.com, VideoETA.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Wayman Tisdale, “The Wayman Tisdale Story” (CD/DVD).
Rihanna, “Talk That Talk.”
Willie Nelson, “Remember Me Vol. 1.”
Nickelback, “Here and Now.”
Daughtry, “Break the Spell.”
The Rolling Stones, “Some Girls: Deluxe Edition.”
Bob Seger, “Ultimate Hits: Rock And Roll Never Forgets.”
Taylor Swift, “Speak Now World Tour Live” (CD/DVD).
Big Time Rush, “Elevate.”
Michael Jackson, “Immortal.”
Kate Bush, “50 Words for Snow.”
DVDs
Carjacked
Conan the Barbarian
The Devil’s Double
Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series
The Family Tree
Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special
A Madea Christmas: The Play
Perry Mason: Season 6, Volume 2
Prep & Landing
Sarah’s Key
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
Super 8
The Wayman Tisdale Story
Books
Explosive Eighteen (Stephanie Plum Series #18) by Janet Evanovich
The Forgotten Warrior by Erin Hunter
Longing (Bailey Flanigan Series #3) by Karen Kingsbury
Micro by Michael Crichton, Richard Preston
Lady Gaga by Lady Gaga, Terry Richardson (Photographer)
The Hoarder in You: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life by Robin Zasio
Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo by Betty White
-BAM
Blu-ray review: “The Tempest”
A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“The Tempest”
Dame Helen Mirren has the stuff that makes writer-director Julie Taymor’s dramatically dreamlike adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” work.
Widely considered one of The Bard’s last and best plays, “The Tempest” churns with many powerful, universal issues, including love and betrayal, revenge and forgiveness, freedom and slavery. With her new adaptation, Taymor (“Across the Universe,” Broadway’s “The Lion King”) gives Prospero, the lead character in the magical tale, a sex change, casting Mirren as Prospera and adding gender inequality into the thematic mix.
The Oscar-winning actress not only deftly delivers Shakespeare’s sharply penned dialogue but also fully inhabits the role of the banished sorceress and former Duke of Milan. Usurped by her backstabbing brother Antonio (Chris Cooper), Prospera and her daughter Miranda (Felicity Jones) have spent the past 12 years living on a remote island; their deformed and discontented slave Caliban (Djimon Hounsou) is the harsh land’s only other corporeal inhabitant.
Prospera makes magic with the help of an airy but mighty spirit named Ariel (Ben Whishaw), whom she released from imprisonment in an enchanted tree. She has long promised to loose Ariel from her service and agrees to free him after he helps her gain revenge on her brother.
With Ariel’s aid, she conjures a forceful storm that wrecks the ship bearing Antonio, King Alonso of Naples (David Strathairn), Alonso’s grasping brother Sebastian (Alan Cumming), the king’s son Prince Ferdinand (Reeve Carney, star of the embattled Taymor-devised Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”) and Alonso’s jesters Trinculo (Russell Brand) and Stephano (Alfred Molina).
Washed ashore separately from the others, Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda, and Prospera compels the prince to become her servant. The enchantress uses Ariel to vent her fury on her brother and his royal friends, while Stephano and Trinculo encounter Caliban, who recruits them to help him overthrow Prospera.
Regarded as a visual sorceress in her own right, Taymor filmed “The Tempest” on location in the Hawaiian islands and showcases the black volcanic sand beaches, ruggedly beautiful cliffs and surging waves to great effect. But some of the special effects, particularly those used to depict Ariel, look as dated and hokey as an ’80s music video.
Costume designer Sandy Powell and composer Elliot Goldenthal merge various styles and time periods to augment the otherworldly storytelling, but the real magic comes from Mirren’s captivating lead turn.
Blu-ray features: Two audio commentaries, hourlong making-of documentary, Reeve Carney music video and rehearsal footage.
— BAM
New releases for Nov. 15, 2011: R.E.M. box set, Drake’s “Take Care,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
Thanksgiving and the Christmas shopping season are getting closer, which means an increasing bounty of new CDs, DVDs and books are becoming available.
Here is a list of this week’s new offerings, from Amazon.com, VideoETA.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Drake, “Take Care.”
R.E.M., “Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982 – 2011.”
“Glee” cast, “Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2.”
Frank Sinatra, “Sinatra: Best of the Best.”
Andrea Bocelli, Céline Dion, Tony Bennett, Chris Botti and David Foster, “Concerto, One Night in Central Park.”
Childish Gambino, “Camp.”
The Who, “Quadrophenia – The Director’s Cut (Super Deluxe Edition)” (Box set).
Sigur Rós, “Inní” (2 CD + DVD).
Pink Martini, “A Retrospective.”
DVDs
Beginners
Being Human: The Complete First Season
Bellflower
Dreamworks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury / Book of Dragons
Flypaper
Griff the Invisible
It Takes a Thief: The Complete Series
Larry Crowne
Main Street
The Open Door
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Sanctuary: The Complete Third Season
Books
Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #6) by Jeff Kinney
Kill Alex Cross (Alex Cross Series #18) by James Patterson
V Is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone Series #22) by Sue Grafton
Star Wars The Old Republic #3 by Drew Karpyshyn
Devil’s Gate by Clive Cussler
Gabby by Gabrielle Giffords
-BAM
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2″ debuts today on Blu-ray, DVD
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series, debuted on DVD and Blu-ray today.
Featuring an all-star British cast, the much-anticipated motion picture event is the second of two full-length parts. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
The three-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo includes:
Instant Streaming with UltraViolet Digital Copy
Disc 1: Theatrical Movie on Blu-ray
Disc 2: Special Features on Blu-ray:
Maximum Movie Mode hosted by Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and other cast members
A Conversation with JK Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe
The Goblins of Gringott’s
The Women of Harry Potter
Warner Bros. Studio Tour (London)
Additional Scenes
Disc 3: Theatrical Movie on DVD
-BAM
DVD review: “Cars 2″ Blu-ray + DVD
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Cars 2” Blu-ray + DVD
The animation whizzes at Pixar crowd “Cars 2” with too many colorful characters, exotic locales and madcap plotlines for the sequel to run smoothly.
But the gearheads, racing fans and little boys who made 2006’s “Cars” a huge hit and a merchandising champion will likely consider the follow-up a high-octane winner.
Well-known car buff John Lassetter, now the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, returns to the director’s seat for “Cars.” But his return trip to the world of anthropomorphic automobiles, based on Ben Queen’s stuck-in-overdrive screenplay, isn’t a simple story about an ambitious racer learning to slow down.
The sequel opens with a fun homage to James Bond, as British super spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) snoops around a deep-sea oil rig on a secret mission. The evil Professor Z (Thomas Kretschmann) is up to no good, but Finn is confronted by the villain’s pack of henchmen before he can figure out who is the bad professor’s latest employer.
In the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs, low-beam tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) is eagerly awaiting the return of his best pal, racer Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), who has been busy winning the Piston Cup. McQueen has been looking forward to a quiet summer at home but soon ends up accepting obnoxious Formula 1 car Francesco Bernoulli’s (John Turturro) insulting challenge to race in the inaugural World Grand Prix.
Sir Miles Axelrod (Eddie Izzard), a pricey SUV who has turned electric, is planning the race through Tokyo, Paris and the fictional Italian town of Porto Corsa to tout his new alternative fuel Allinol. But McQueen’s girlfriend Sally (Bonnie Hunt) views it as a chance for the Piston Cup champ to take his small-town BFF on the road with him.
Their friendship hits a huge pothole when Mater’s usual small-town rube routine embarrasses McQueen in front of his souped-up friends. While McQueen is trying to save face, Mater gets mixed up in the mission Finn and his rookie partner Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) have mounted to stop Professor Z and his army of lemon cars, who want to make Allinol crash and burn.
Pixar fans expecting the hefty themes and nuanced storytelling of “WALL-E,” “Up” or even the “Toy Story” films will consider “Cars 2” a car wreck, and the shifting of the story’s focus from McQueen to Mater will annoy those with a low tolerance for Larry the Cable Guy’s corn-pone humor.
But the little boys who beg for Lightning McQueen-theme shoes, T-shirts and toys will love taking another zippy ride with “Cars 2.”
Bonus features: Director’s commentary, the “Toy Story” short film “Hawaiian Vacation” and the “Cars” short “Air Mater.”
— BAM
