Monday, July 9, 2018

Big Hero 6: The Series - Back In Action! DVD Review


Disney; TV-Y7; 175 minutes; Amazon

I don't keep up with all the new animated series, so I had no clue that Big Hero 6: The Series even existed until I heard about the recent DVD release "Back In Action!".

Big Hero 6 was a 2014 Walt Disney computer-animated feature film which was based on the Marvel Comics superhero team. The movie centered around fourteen-year-old Hiro Hamada, who puts together a superhero team to stop a villain who stole his microbots. The team includes Fred, Wasabi, Go Go, Honey Lemon, and Baymax, an an inflatable medical robot that was created by Hiro's deceased brother, Tadashi.

The series debuted on the Disney Channel last November with a 43-minute episode Baymax Returns, which takes place directly after the events of film. The entire voice-cast returned, except for Damon Wayans Jr. (Wasabi) and T.J. Miller (Fred). Their voices were placed by Khary Payton (Washabi) and Brooks Wheelan (Fred).

The series recons the ending of the film with the major differences are Fred naming the team "Big Hero 6" instead of Hiro, the teams identities are a secret from the public, and Aunt Cass now knows about Baymax.

Big Hero 6: The Series - Back In Action DVD features the 43-minute pilot and six 22-minute episodes. As an added bonus, the DVD contains six bonus shorts: Baymax and Hiro, Baymax and Wasabi, Baymax and Go Go, Baymax and Fred, Baymax and Honey Lemon, & Baymax and Mochi.

The seven episodes on the DVD are:

  • Baymax Returns - Hiro rebuilds Baymax just in time to join Wasabi, Go Go, Fred, and Honey Lemon as Big Hero 6, a team of superheros who fight crime throughout the city.
  • Issue 188 - Two female villains calling themselves "High Voltage" terrorizes the city and it's up to Big Hero 6 to stop them.
  • Big Roommates 2 - The team faces off with their first super villain - Globby!
  • Food Fight - Krei seeks the help of Big Hero 6 in the retrieval of a gravity device that was stolen by Ninja-chef Momakase.
  • Muirahara Woods - Hiro, Fred, and Baymax get lost in the woods and encounter a hermit named Ned Ludd.
  • Failure Mode - The team tries to stop Globby from stealing the "City Rises" painting.
  • Fred's Bro-Tillion - The Big Hero 6 team helps Fred prepare for his upcoming Bro-Tillion.


Final Thoughts

Sunday, July 8, 2018

S.W.A.T.: Special Edition Blu-ray Review

Mill Creek Ent., PG- 13; 117 minutes


Does anybody even remember the 2003 action flick S.W.A.T?

Honestly, I didn't even know the film even existed until Mill Creek Entertainment released the Blu-ray earlier this year. With the star-studded cast o Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Jeremy Renner, Michelle Rodriguez, and LL Cool J, you would think that I would have remembered the movie being released back in 2003.

Based on short-lived 1975 television series, S.W.A.T. centers around a SWAT team of the Los Angeles Police Department. Well, more specifically, the film is more about Officer Jim Street (played by Colin Farrell), who has been in a rut ever since ex-partner and friend Brian Gamble (played by Jeremy Renner) disobeyed an order during a hostage situation, resulting in Street being demoted. Six months later, Street gets his chance at redemption when he's handpicked to join Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson's (played by Samuel L. Jackson) new SWAT team, which also includes Michael Boxer (played by Brian Van Holt), TJ McCabe (played by Josh Charles), Deacon Kaye (played by LL Cool J) and Christina Sánchez (played by Michelle Rodriguez).

The team is put to the ultimate test when they are assigned to escort the French drug lord Alexander "Alex" Montel (played by Olivier Martinez) to the FBI, but things don't go as planned when Montel puts a bounty of $100 million to anyone who can help him escape.



Final Thoughts

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Yor, The Hunter from the Future: 35th Anniversary Blu-ray

Mill Creek Ent., PG; 89 mins; $14.98

Have you ever watched a movie that is so stupid, that it's actually likeable?

Well, that pretty much sums up my thoughts on the 1983 fantasy film Yor, the Hunter from the Future, which is ripoff of Quest of Fire and Star Wars. Upon it's original release, the film received negative reviews from critics and was given three Golden Raspberry Awards nominations.

Yor, the Hunter from the Future arrived on Blu-ray earlier this year from Mill Creek Entertainment; just in time to celebrate the film's 35th Anniversary. Bonus Features include a brand new audio commentary from actor Reb Brown and the original theatrical trailer.

Loosely based on the Argentinian comic book Yor, the film was directed by Antonio Margheriti and stars Reb Brown, Corinne Cléry, John Steiner, and Carole André.

The film centers around a barbarian named Yor (played by Reb Brown) who arrives just in the nick of time to save innocent villagers from a bloody thirsty dinosaur. Before he can rest from the battle, the village is attacked again, but this time they are attacked by a group of bluish skinned cavemen. Everyone is either murdered or kidnapped during the attack. Well, all except for Yor and Pag (played by Luciano Pigozzi), who quickly go on a rescue mission that turns into a disaster, as all the villagers end up being killed, except for a cavewoman named Kala (played by Corinne Cléry).

The trio explore the prehistoric land in search for Yor's origins, as he doesn't know where he comes from, except for the fact that he has wears a weird medallion around his neck. Now this is where the film gets a little strange, as it jumps from being a "barbarian movie" to being a science fiction flick that steals a few things from Star Wars.



Final Thoughts

Friday, July 6, 2018

Book Blogger Hop: July 6th - 12th




Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML


Welcome to the new Book Blogger Hop!

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 is submitted by Megan @ Ginger Mom & the Kindle Quest.


If you were stranded on a deserted island, which ONE book could you not live without?

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:

Great question! I'm not for sure what book I would want to have with me. Maybe... Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I have an old hardback copy.  However, it's over 1,000 pages and I've never had the time to read it.


Linky List:

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Summer Reads: House of Secrets by V.C. Andrews

Pocket Books; 400 pages; Amazon
It's no secret that I like reading a wide variety of authors and genres, which includes V.C. Andrews, the Gothic-horror novelist who wrote the bestselling Flowers in the Attic and its sequels. Though the author died in 1986, Simon & Schuster has continued to publish other novels, which have all been written by a ghostwriter (a.k.a.  - Andrew Neiderman).

The first book in newest "V.C. Andrews" series, titled House of Secrets, was published early this year. Pocket Books nicely set me a paperback copy to review on this blog. I read the book right away, but I kept putting off writing my review for it. I ended up rereading the book last month, so the story would be fresh in my mind when I eventually got around to writing the review.

House of Secrets centers around Fern, a teenager who lives with her mother at the Wyndemere House, which is owned by the Davenport family. Before Fern was born, her mother took a job as a nanny for the Davenports. After Mrs. Davenport died in a car accident, Fern's mother stayed on to help look after Davenport's son, Ryder. Years later, Dr. Davenport remarried to a woman named Bea Howell and they had a daughter named Samantha (named after his first wife). Things changed within the household when Bea arrived. Fern (who is two years younger than Ryder) was no longer allowed to play with him, as she was only the help's daughter.

Though they aren't supposed to have a relationship, Fern and Ryder find ways to be around each other, which makes things a bit awkward for them now that they are in their teenage years. Secretly, they find each other attractive and have romantic feelings for another. However, they wouldn't dare act on their feelings, as they fear Bea's wrath!

Final Thoughts

Jules Verne's Mysterious Island DVD Review

Mill Creek Ent., 171 minutes; $14.98

Do you remember watching those low-budget Hallmark-produced television miniseries?

Well, I do! I have fond memories of watching campy miniseries on network television and cable channels during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s (aka - during my childhood). Miniseries are pretty much a thing of the past now, though a new one does show up on cable once in a great while.

Anyway, the only reason why I'm talking about miniseries, is because I watched Jules Verne's Mysterious Island a few nights ago. It's a 2005 miniseries that aired on the Hallmark Channel, and as you can probably tell by the title, it's based on the Jules Verne's 1874 novel "Mysterious Island," which is a crossover sequel to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and In Search of the Castaways. Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the miniseries on DVD. There are no special features or bonus extras, but the DVD does come with a Digital code that can be redeemed at www.milcreekent.com/redeem.

Directed by Russell Mulcahy (Highlander 1 & 2), the miniseries centers on Captain Cyrus Smith (played by Kyle MacLachlan), his ex-slave Neb (played by Omar Gooding), a nurse named Jane and her teenage daughter Helen (played by Gabrielle Anwar and Danielle Calvert), and a thief named Pencroff (played by Jason Durr) escaping a Confederate prison camp by stealing a hot air balloon. Eventually, the balloon crashes on a uncharted island in the Pacific, the exact same island that occupies the mad inventor Captain Nemo (played by Patrick Stewart).

To survive on the island, Cyrus and company have to outrun giant-size creatures and battle pirates who are searching for buried treasure.



Final Thoughts

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Tarot Being Used to Help Relationships


If you have ever wondered whether you are with the right person or if you are going to meet someone, it might be time to schedule a tarot card reading. Professional card readers are able to help people understand their relationships more effectively and tap into the mystical powers of the universe.

What is a reading?

A relationship tarot reading involves several cards being drawn. This can be done online or over the phone. This means that a person does not have to be physically sitting in front of the psychic who will be reading the tarot cards. It’s all based on the idea that the cards being drawn are meant for the person who is currently spiritually connected to the reader.

What can you find out?