tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60895542009-11-28T13:21:37.152-08:00A Collection of Reviews Covering the Worlds of Art and Entertainment alongside other Snobbish Ramblings.El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.comBlogger734125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-18983171699175152312009-11-28T13:15:00.000-08:002009-11-28T13:21:37.460-08:00

Tying in with the release of Eoin Colfer's And Another Thing…, the sixth book in the ever-expanding and prematurely designated The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy and the first not written by Douglas Adams, as well as the 30th anniversary of the first The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy novel, which was written by Adams, comes the newly updated Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-87533604234829000702009-11-26T14:01:00.000-08:002009-11-26T14:04:28.406-08:00

While it will only be of interest to Deadheads and like-minded folk, Relix, the Book is an impressive testament to the devotion and community created by fans of the Grateful Dead. Their relationship with the band, the music, and each other helped create a different business model many new bands now use.Because of the Grateful Dead's acceptance and encouragement of not-for-profit bootleggers, Les

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-43780313733368649292009-11-26T01:41:00.000-08:002009-11-26T01:45:50.585-08:00

John Woo's Red Cliff was originally released in two feature-length parts in Asia, but comes to the west as one film. Although this new version loses about half the combined material, in its current form it is a triumph of epic filmmaking, rivaling the scale and scope of work by directors David Lean and Akira Kurosawa as it tells the story of the Battle of Red Cliffs which contributed to the end

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-7702960916669472922009-11-24T17:21:00.000-08:002009-11-24T18:46:04.553-08:00

Following previous DVDs of Cartoon Network's Justice League and Justice League Unlimited that offered a few shows and entire seasons, fans can now revel in all 91 episodes with the release of Justice League – The Complete Series. These aren't your daddy's Super Friends where congenial heroes dealt with easily resolved conflicts and infrequently fought supervillians in programs geared towards

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-83244493134642251062009-11-22T21:27:00.000-08:002009-11-23T19:38:29.566-08:00

Following Fearless Leader and Interplay, Side Steps completes Prestige Records planned three boxed-set series focusing on tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. The work and artistry on display by many talented musicians over the five discs in the set are taken from recording sessions Trane worked as a sideman, occurring between 5/7/56 through 1/3/58.The music, much of it hard bop, has all been

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-50569450690784631082009-11-20T20:02:00.000-08:002009-11-20T20:26:30.471-08:00

Led by director/co-writer Pete Docter, the Pixar team have once again revealed why they are a brand you can trust for quality entertainment. Up is a wondrous film of adventure filled with compelling characters and an engaging, multifaceted story. The Blu-ray does a fantastic job bringing the experience home.Up opens and we meet two children, Carl and Ellie. They quickly bond over a shared

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-89439973863162315212009-11-19T21:02:00.000-08:002009-11-22T15:45:44.596-08:00

Created by Johnston McCulley, the character of Zorro, the swashbuckling swordsman of Spanish colonial California, first appeared in All-Story Weekly in 1919. Douglas Fairbanks starred in the first film adaptation The Mark of Zorro (1920), which was such a huge hit it compelled McCulley to write over 60 Zorro stories. Zorro appeared in other films and comics, and according to Leonard Maltin who

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-75534055728634494082009-11-16T23:21:00.000-08:002009-11-16T23:44:45.707-08:00

As the impending idiocracy approaches, it becomes harder to differentiate between those who have already succumbed, and those who hasten its arrival because it’s an easy way to make a buck and gain a little notoriety.Both groups create “decade in review” pieces a year early, but the sell-outs who know better reveal themselves through admittedly wise selections. A surefire way to spot one is if

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-5390036585439927422009-11-16T14:47:00.000-08:002009-11-16T14:52:55.519-08:00

In celebration of their fortieth anniversary, the members of Monty Python, five living and one who has “expired and gone to meet 'is maker,” have once again been gathered together, separately, to tell the group’s history through a series of interviews and archival footage in Almost The Truth, a six-part documentary that aired on IFC. Also, on hand on are contemporaries, comedians influenced by

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-1698370077071925722009-11-11T17:19:00.000-08:002009-11-11T17:30:01.785-08:00

Blackadder is a historical and at times hysterical 1980s British sitcom, focusing on the exploits of different members (all played by Rowan Atkinson) of the Blackadder lineage throughout history. “The Ultimate Edition” is the third DVD release of the entire series. The episodes look very good after having been remastered, and the set contains almost every related item a Blackadder fan could

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-87430723224742447302009-11-09T21:28:00.000-08:002009-11-09T21:33:59.132-08:00

The third season of The Fugitive continues the adventures of Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), a man falsely charged with killing his wife. He roams the country, taking on different aliases and odd jobs in an effort to stay away from the law, particularly the dogged Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse), and in the hopes of finding the real murderer, the one-armed man. "Volume One” is a four-disc set

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-58968087121247837192009-11-08T13:02:00.000-08:002009-11-08T13:03:28.447-08:00

Written by and starring Monty Python’s John Cleese and his wife Connie Booth, who became his ex-wife before the second series aired, Fawlty Towers is quite possibly the funniest sitcom episode for episode. The main reason being the quality of the scripts, which the two spent weeks plotting, writing, and revising in order to perfect them.Set in the English seaside town of Torquay, Cleese plays

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-64342405125145207572009-11-06T20:43:00.001-08:002009-11-06T20:43:35.907-08:00

While not listed as an official commemoration of their 40th anniversary, Double Down Live celebrates ZZ Top and makes clear why their blues-based rock has been such an enduring success over the decades. Considering the unpredictable nature of the music business and many of its practitioners, it’s very impressive that founding members guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-14454962416441605092009-11-04T15:21:00.000-08:002009-11-04T15:24:37.284-08:00

Monsters of Folk is an indie supergroup comprised of Jim James (credited as Yim Yames) from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes, and M. Ward. Although I appreciate their talents and on separate occasions have seen James, Oberst, and Ward in concert, I don’t consider myself a fan in comparison to many who were likely drawn to this collaboration. Alternating lead vocals

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-11413635138629556762009-11-02T02:51:00.000-08:002009-11-02T03:01:31.726-08:00

In celebration of its 15th Anniversary and because the distribution of the director’s cut reverted back to Warner Brothers, a new release of Natural Born Killers is now available. Based on a story from Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone tells the tale of serial killers Mickey and Mallory Knox (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis) as a way to comment on problems with 1990s American society, such as

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-81788520017574202472009-11-01T21:25:00.000-08:002009-11-01T21:34:21.159-08:00

Capitalizing on the vampire’s near omnipresence in pop culture, from books, movies and television, editor Otto Penzler has created a fantastic tome for readers to sink their teeth, or fangs, into. Similar to his Big Book of Pulps, The Vampire Archives is must-have for fans of the genre as it gathers 82 short stories from a talented group of writers.Authors Kim Newman, Neil Gaiman, and Penzler

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-45184399573671930082009-10-28T17:32:00.000-07:002009-10-28T17:37:01.171-07:00

Well-timed for Halloween, The Library of America has released the two-volume set, American Fantastic Tales, featuring 86 stories. Author Peter Straub, well known for his horror writing, serves as the editor, a function he previously performed for LOA on H. P. Lovecraft: Tales. He writes the Introduction to each book and even gets an entry with “A Short Guide to the City,” whose narrator details

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-69953110940749524782009-10-25T11:40:00.000-07:002009-10-25T11:57:08.968-07:00

Originally created for Quality Comics by Jack Cole, Plastic Man had the ability to alter his body into any form he needed. After a cameo in Super Friends, Ruby-Spears Productions put him in his own Saturday morning cartoon series airing from 1979 to 1981. While this set doesn’t actually contain the “complete” animated adventures of Plastic Man, the 35 episodes contained herein are the from the

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-42374516667150174592009-10-24T12:09:00.000-07:002009-10-24T12:25:26.452-07:00

Following the release of Radiohead’s first three albums in expanded collector’s editions earlier this year, EMI completes the set by giving Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief the same treatment. As before, the two-CD Collector’s Editions feature an extra disc of rarities and the Special Collector’s Edition augment the CDs with a DVD of video material.After taking time off at the completion

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-14372649418262365362009-10-23T17:18:00.000-07:002009-10-23T17:19:35.691-07:00

Muse’s The Resistance is quite intriguing because if one were to just read a list of influences heard and directions taken by the band on the album, there’s no way it should work. However, thanks to the their talents, exceeded by their audacity, the heart of the album finds them returning return fun to rock ‘n’ roll. And although it is not stated anywhere in the liner notes or own their website

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-12928270333825626762009-10-20T01:17:00.000-07:002009-10-20T15:23:48.828-07:00

Picking up right where the 1960’s Collection left off, Disc 1 opens with Play It Again, Charlie Brown (1971), appearing on DVD for the first time. The story focuses on Lucy trying to win Schroeder’s affections although he has no interest in her. To get on his good side, she volunteers him to play a recital for a PTA benefit show, which he is thankful for until it turns out Beethoven isn’t

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-39979407647668583732009-10-19T17:49:00.000-07:002009-10-19T18:23:52.401-07:00

Three years since the DVD release of the fourth season, Twentieth Century Fox has finally released the fifth season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on DVD this month. I couldn’t find any reason for the lengthy interval, so I presume previous sales numbers didn’t meet their expected goals because it’s hard to believe one of television’s funniest and most honored sitcoms (held the record of winning

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-53906228747625271942009-10-18T23:26:00.000-07:002009-10-18T23:28:18.526-07:00

Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a landmark in cinema history for a number of reasons, most notably being the first feature-length animated film. It retells the Brothers Grimm fairytale about the princess Snow White and her wicked stepmother, known only as the Queen, who is so vain her desires to be the “fairest of them all” drive her to have Snow White killed. When the Huntsman

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-60720017236872110912009-10-13T13:57:00.000-07:002009-10-13T13:58:39.494-07:00

During the Summer of Love, the weekend of June 16-18, 1967 to be specific, the Monterey International Pop Music Festival was held. Thankfully for all those of us unable to attend director D.A. Pennebaker led a team of cameramen to record it, and an equal amount of gratitude goes to The Criterion Collection for releasing The Complete Monterey Pop Festival, consisting of the films Monterey Pop,

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089554.post-37938944316862728562009-10-08T03:49:00.000-07:002009-10-08T04:06:29.210-07:00

Based on the first six issues of Superman/Batman by writer Jeph Loeb and illustrator Ed McGuinness, Public Enemies finds Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown) taking advantage of a poor economy and launching a third-party bid that wins him the Presidency of the United States. One of his first acts mandates superheroes must serve the government rather than act on their own as vigilantes. While some agree to

El Bichohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040141122079296388noreply@blogger.com0