4 Movie Collection: Bingo/ Race the Sun/ My Stepmother is an Alien/ Little Secrets
Directors: Matthew Robbins, Charles T. Kanganis, Richard Benjamin, Blair Treu
Starring: Cindy Williams, Halle Berry, James Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Kim Basinger, Evan Rachel Wood
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: May 7, 2013
ASIN: B00BUWD7RK
Retail: $9.98
Run Time: 6hrs 33mins
Rating: PG, PG-13

Review:

Mill Creek Entertainment has been releasing many 4 Movie Collections this year and one of their releases this month contained four family movies - Bingo, Race the Sun, My Stepmother is an Alien, and Little Secrets; which I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. 

Bingo is low-budget Problem Child version of Benji that was released back in 1991 when I was ten-years old. I remember seeing a few advertisements for the movie, but I never saw it until last week. After being kicked out of the circus, Bingo rescues Chuckie, who then sneaks the dog into his house. The following the day, Chuckie learns that his father has been traded to the Green Bay Packers, therefore the family is moving and Bingo gets left behind, well not really, as the dog travels across the country to find the boy. Despite being rated PG, the humor is really juvenile, and I don't recommend it for younger children.

Race the Sun is a 1996 film loosely based on the true story of the Konawaena High School Solar Car Team, the first high school team to complete the World Solar Challenge, and starred Halle Berry, James Belushi, Casey Affleck, and Eliza Dushku. It didn't do well at the box-office. The movie is predictable at times, but it's a likeable fluff.

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part Two
Starring: Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman
Studio: BBC Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 28, 2013
ASIN: B00BXTH49M
Retail: $24.98
Running Time: 360 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon.com

Review:

The legendary Doctor Who turns fifty-years-old this November and it is the time to catch up with the second half of series seven with the two-disc DVD of Doctor Who: Series Seven - Part Two out in stores today.

Picking up where the 2012 Christmas special, The Snowmen, ended, The Doctor tracks down the modern day version of Clara Oswin Oswald, aka The Impossible Girl, who just happens to need his help to stop the Great Intelligence. The Doctor is intrigue with Clara as she doesn't remember ever meeting him before. He takes her on a several adventures across the universe and across time in the TARDIS, but waiting in the shadows is the Doctor's darkest secret.

Doctor Who, Season 7, Episode 10, Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) and the Doctor (Matt Smith)

Photo Credit: 

Ray Burmiston/Adrian Rogers, ©BBC WORLDWIDE

The episodes on the two-disc set are:

 
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Doctor Who: The Snowmen
Starring: Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman
Studio: BBC Warner
Release Date: May 28, 2013
ASIN: B00CENXWA6
Run Time: 60 minutes 
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review: 

The 2012 Doctor Who Christmas Special is finally making its way onto DVD and Blu-Ray on Tuesday, May 28th, 2013, which introduces Jenna-Louise Coleman as the Doctor's new companion, Clara Oswin Oswald, or otherwise known as the Impossible Girl.


After losing his previous companions, Amy Pond and Rory Williams, the Doctor has parked the TARDIS above London in the year 1892. He's still grieving and would prefer to be alone, in which his allies, Vastra, Jenny, and Strax, keep others from seeking his help. That is until a barmaid, Clara Oswin Oswald, accuses him of building a snowman in front of her workplace. He ignores her and instructs Strax to erase her memory with a memory worm, but the snowmen appear out of nowhere.

Doctor Who: The Snowmen, Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) and the Doctor (Matt Smith)  Adrian Rogers, ©BBC/BBC WORLDWIDE

Clara flees to her other job as a governess to Captain Latimer's children, but she will once again cross paths with the Doctor, who can't quite figure out where he has seen her before. The ghastly snowmen return along with an icy ex-governess, all leading to return of one of the Doctor's oldest enemies, the Great Intelligence.

 Bonus features on the DVD are:

• Clara's White Christmas - Behind-the-scenes of The Snowmen. (3.5 minutes)
• Vastra Investigates - A three-minute prequel to The Snowmen.
• Children in Need Special: The Great Detective - A three-minute prequel to The Snowmen.

Doctor Who: The Snowmen, Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Commander Strax (Dan Starkey), and Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) Adrian Rogers, ©BBC/BBC WORLDWIDE

Doctor Who is celebrating its 50th anniversary this November, though I have only been aware of the program since 2006 when I watched Series One of the new incarnation on the Sci-Fi Channel (now known as SyFy). I became a fan by the end of the first episode. Since the end of Series Four, the series has aired on BBC America, which isn't offered through my local cable company. Therefore, I have patiently awaited each new DVD release, which I prefer as I can watch the episodes back-to-back.

The Snowmen runs about sixty-minutes and it feels more like a feature film than a television episode. The snowmen special effects look great and at times are a little frightening. Introducing the old enemy, the Great Intelligence, is pure genius, especially with Sir Ian McKellen as the voice. Jenna-Louise Coleman is a perfect as the new companion Clara Oswin Oswald and adds a bit of mystery for the Doctor to unravel. The new TARDIS design looks great as well as the new opening credits. The Snowmen is now my favorite Doctor Who Christmas special. I highly recommend it to others.



*Disclaimer - I received a free DVD in exchange for my honest review.

Welcome to the new Book Blogger Hop!

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If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

This week's question submitted by Elizabeth.

Have you ever been to BEA, and if so, do you recommend attending? Any good advice for first-time attendees? 

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

My Answer:

No, I have never been to the BookExpo America. Money is a little tight for me, so traveling is out of the question. It would probably be a fun experience as I do love books.

The Man of Steel: Superman and the Poisoned Planet
By: Matthew K. Mannin
Illustrator: Mike Cavallaro
Publisher: Stone Arch Books
Pub. Date: January 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1434242242
Pages: 88

Review: 

Superman will be returning to the skies this summer in the highly anticipated reboot Man of Steel. Before then, kids can read about the flying hero in the new chapter book from Stone Arch Books, which I received a free copy of The Man of Steel: Superman and the Poisoned Planet in exchange for my honest review.

Even though I didn't grow up reading comic books, I was aware of whom Superman was through the Christopher Reeve's movies. I missed out on the Superman animated series, but I did watch the underrated Superman Returns. The advertisements for the Man of Steel look interesting, so I was looking forward to reading Superman and the Poisoned Planet.

The plot involves Batman's enemy, Poison Ivy, discovering a rare glowing vine made from Kryptonite. Superman captures Parasite and returns to the Daily News to resume his identity as Clark Kent. But he is in for a big surprise as Poison Ivy and her goons have taken the newspaper office hostage. She is demanding the Daily News to print their newspapers on recycled paper to help save the environment.

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Best of Walden
Studio: Starz/ Anchor Bay
Release Date: April 9, 2013
ASIN: B00AQSN6OI
Retail: $14.98
Run Time: 70 minutes
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

This year I have had the chance to watch a few new cartoons that I have never heard of before. Last weekend, I watched the DVD Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Best of Walden, which I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! aired from 2006 to 2010 on Nick Jr., totaling fifty-two episodes (two segments per episode) and two movies.

The Best of Walden DVD features six episodes about Wubbzy's friend Walden, who is the bookish, kindhearted, science nerd of the series. In these six twelve-minute episodes, Walden bakes a marshmallow lasagna, finds a strange elephant-like-creature in his yard, catches the Chickenitis, collects figgety-fig leaves, learns how to swim and how to be cool.

The episodes on the single disc are: