Aliens Vs Predator - Requiem (DVD)

Considering that this film has been bashed by a lot of critics, I will try and be as fair as possible here. After I watched Aliens Vs Predator - Requiem on DVD, I was curious what others had to say. Let's just say the results were not in the film's favor. Despite what most people have said about this film, what you expect from it will determine if it's "good" or not. If you go in expecting an Oscar worthy film, you'll be let down. If you're in the mood for a Sci-Fi/Horror film that doesn't tone down the gore, you might be satisfied. The gory scenes are a little more intense than some other traditional Sci-Fi movies. You have to admit, the idea of Predator and Aliens battling it out sounds like a cool concept. Now, take that battle to earth, and all hell breaks loose. It's bad enough dealing with just one of these things. Now, it's Predator AND Aliens causing much havoc. After being sabotaged by an alien, a Predator spaceship crashes into a Colorado town. The alien that attacked the ship is no ordinary alien though. It is a hybrid of an alien and a Predator, which is known as a Predalien. Before the Predator pilot of the ship was killed, he sent out a distress signal out, which was picked up by another Predator. This one that got the signal packs up and heads to earth to clean up this alien mess. After the aliens start wiping out the poor humans and begin breeding, you'd think the arrival of Predator is in favor of the humans. That is until he skins a man alive! Between these two forces, there really is no good vs. evil. The Aliens are wiping out the humans, and even though the Predator is hunting Aliens, he will kill any human who gets in his way. All of this drama leads up to a final confrontation between Predator and the Predalien. Two vicious beings going at it blow-for-blow. As far as the special effects, they are much more advanced than the previous Alien/Predator films. As much as you can find problems with the story, you can do the same for most other films as well, if you look hard enough. Even though this film wasn't what a lot of people expected it to be, I thought it was better than what some made it out to be.

Jayce and The Wheeled Warriors Volume One

With nostalgic fever rising everywhere, Shout! Factory has added to it by releasing Jayce and The Wheeled Warriors Volume One on DVD. From the first note of the show's theme song, you are immediately transported back to the 80's with this cartoon adventure. If you were a fan of the show, you will have plenty of time to relive those memories with this set. There are 4 discs worth of episodes to indulge in! In the show, Jayce (and his rockin' mullet) takes you on adventure after adventure as he searches for his missing father. Along the way, Jayce and his Lightning League find themselves up against an evil mutant league called the Monster Minds. With their high-tech machinery, the Lightning League heroically battles the Monster Minds as they seek to find Jayce’s dad, and combine two halves of a magic Root amulet. This magic Root amulet has the capability to destroy the evil army. Obviously, the Monster Minds won't go down without a fight. So Jayce and his crew have their work cut out for them along their quest. To sum it up, Jayce and The Wheeled Warriors is a cartoon that effectively combines fantasy with futuristic action to appeal to both younger and older generations.

Click here for more info.

The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder: John, Paul, Tom And Ringo

John Lennon, who was quite an intriguing artist, conducted his final TV interview with Tom Snyder in 1975. When Lennon was shot in 1980, Tom re-aired this interview in remembrance of him. In the interview, they covered topics like why the Beatles broke up, John's "shocking" actions (the nude album cover with Yoko), and thoughts about life and music in general. Out now on DVD is The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder: John, Paul, Tom And Ringo, which showcases that same interview, along with additional interviews with Ringo and Paul. I just finished it and found the interview to be quite interesting, as well as Tom Snyder's shaggy hairdo! I don't personally remember John's assassination since I was a toddler when it happened. But growing up as a music lover, I had tremendous respect for him and The Beatles. As with any other misunderstood artist, there are a lot of things that the press will say that paints a false picture of an artist. But when you hear the stories straight from the artist's mouth, you realize how far off the media is in their "facts" on someone's life. That was the case with John. Watching the DVD, Tom asked John some hard hitting questions that definitely cleared up some "controversies" that surrounded him. And I thought that Tom conducted the interview like a real professional. The questions he asked didn't seem like he was trying to get some shock value added to the show. Instead, he appeared interested in understanding John. The answers that Lennon gave are as relevant today for any artist as they were back then. Since this was aired right after he was killed, you really felt the somber mood as the show went on. As I was saying earlier, I was too young to experience how it felt when Lennon died, but this DVD had me feeling like I was there on that sad day. Overall, this is an enlightening DVD, whether you're a Beatles fan or not.

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Dark Matter

Coming to New York theaters on April 11th, and then expanding from there, is the independent film Dark Matter. Directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, and starring Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn and Liu Ye, this film follows an ambitious Chinese science student named Liu Xing, who is pushed to the edge while adapting to life in America. Unable to deal with the politics of the academic world here, he is driven to the breaking point, in what I hear turns into a tragic ending. On April 7th, I attended the press release for the film in NYC. The attendees were actor Aidan Quinn and Liu Ye, along with director Chen Shi-Zheng. Despite the infamous tragic ending, this film seems to be one that will give a better understanding of the cultural differences, and what it's like to come to this land as a foreigner seeking a higher education. For a film with such a small budget, it was able to score a couple of big name actors. You can tell that the story, not the money, drew the actors to this film. When asked what moved Aidan to star in this with hardly any money involved, he replied with two words, "Meryl Streep". He spoke with a lot of respect for her work, and said as soon as he heard she was starring, he was in. From listening to the actors and the director discuss the story, I'm sure Dark Matter will spark some interesting dialogue after the end credits.

Gavin Rossdale's Wanderlust

Any former Bush fans out there wondering what the hell ever happened to them, check this out. Gavin Rossdale will be releasing a solo album titled WANDERlust.



From a guy who misses the songs from Bush such as Everything Zen, Machine Head, and Glycerine, I'm looking forward to this release.

WANDERlust will hit stores on June 3rd.

Smashing Pumpkins - American Gothic

From their angst driven songs of the 90's, to their comeback album Zeitgeist (that showed a more hopeful outlook on life), the Smashing Pumpkins have given fans plenty of music to rock out to. Recently, an EP was released by them titled American Gothic. This 4 song EP shows a different side of the Pumpkins, as the songs are mostly acoustic. Yes, its style is toned down a bit compared to tracks like Tarantula or United States, but it still has that Pumpkins feel to it. Billy Corgan haunts each track with his poetic lyrics and trademark voice. As much as people like to put artists in boxes, thinking they've gotten them figured out, American Gothic shows that the Pumpkins are a band you can't quite pin down.

Track Listing for American Gothic:
1. The Rose March
2. Again, Again, Again (The Crux)
3. Pox
4. Sunkissed

Juno (DVD)

Just as the main character Juno got surprised finding out she was pregnant, this movie surprised many people when it became a big hit. It's not hard to see that this is about a teen getting pregnant, just by looking at Juno's huge belly on the cover. What follows after that is a complex story of a girl deciding to either have an abortion, or put the baby up for adoption. It's hard these days to discuss sensitive issues like this without people getting fired up. As serious as this theme is, the movie was hilarious. No, it didn't downplay the topic of teen pregnancy or abortion at all. In fact, considering that this is a comedy, I found it to be just as serious as it was funny. As good as the story was, it wouldn't have been effective if the cast didn't act as well as they did. Out of the cast that included big names such as Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, it was Ellen Page as Juno who stole the show. Most of the scenes had her spitting out witty one-liners at rapid fire, which provided some pretty hilarious dialogue. As Juno's pregnancy advanced, the movie took a turn and headed toward becoming a tear-jerker. What did you expect from a film dealing with a pregnant teenager? However, there were still plenty of laughs in between the touching scenes.

Juno comes out on April 15th, and I highly recommend checking it out.