Insert Title Here–Homeland, Walking Dead, and Boardwalk Empire

Every week there are tons of newly released films, Blu-rays, books, comics, and CDs, but the truth is, very few of them are worth your time. That’s where this feature comes in. Each posting attempts to highlight the best new media releases of the coming week. It’s far from exhaustive, and of course it will be mostly according to my taste, but I’ll try to do my best to include a wide variety, so hopefully you’ll see something that interests you too.

The Walking Dead: Season 2

We’ll start with the weakest entry for the week. It’s hard to argue that the second season of The Walking Dead wasn’t full of problems. The characters became immensely unlikable, they spent far too much time doing nothing on the farm, and most of the season feels pointless, especially in retrospect. That being said, given the strength of the first season, and the potential of the third, I still think this one is worth picking up for fans of the series. If you haven’t seen it yet, your best course of action is to go in with lowered expectations.

Boardwalk Empire: Season 2

Boardwalk Empire, on the other hand, had a phenomenal second season. This lavish series moved along at a frenetic pace, introducing huge changes to many of its characters lives. To attempt to describe them would do a disservice to the storytelling present here. If you are at all interested, I really can’t recommend this series highly enough.

Homeland Season 1

At first glance, it would be easy to dismiss this as yet another cookie cutter CIA show, but doing so would be a huge mistake. Incredibly deep, with fantastic performances throughout, especially Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, this was far and away the best new series from 2011. As an espionage and psychological thriller, this series is really hard to beat. With the second season premiering on September 30th, now is the perfect time to get caught up.

Sleep well,

DTE

D52–Lady and the Tramp

1955’s Lady and the Tramp was Disney’s first widescreen animated release, a format which reportedly added an additional 30% to the production costs of the film. Though it may seem like an odd first film to try the format on, given the relatively small nature of the story, the results are impressive.

The wider picture allows for the world to be more richly characterized and is used to greatest effect during establishing shots. For the more intimate scenes it becomes apparent that the animators and director were not fully confident is how to use this extra space to maximum effect, but the scenes that do, notably the chase and rat fight, are worth it. Another standout element here is the characterization of the dogs, with the animators filling them with small nuances that will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has owned a dog, belying the initial impression that the animation is simplistic.

Production wise, there is nothing here to suggest its age. The simple nature of the story may cause some viewers to lose interest, but both children and animation fans will find plenty to enjoy.

The original 1955 theatrical trailer

Up next: Sleeping Beauty (1959)

D52–Peter Pan

After being in development for 13 years, Peter Pan was finally released in 1953. It may have taken longer than normal for the studio to come up with a treatment that Walt was happy with, but the results speak for themselves.

Though the final product varies widely from J.M. Barrie’s original, it works extremely well as a film. Even though the story had been made into a movie once before and once since, along with another half dozen TV adaptations, Disney’s version remains, for most people, the definitive telling. There’s good reason for this. It is filled with memorable characters and scenes, strong songs, and the pacing moves the plot along nicely. Though it is very much a series of related adventures, it never feels disjointed.

This was one of my favourite films growing up, and it hold up very well today. Modern audiences will likely be a little uncomfortable with some of the stereotypes exploited within, but they pass quickly and offer an opportunity to talk about just what is wrong with that type of depiction and to teach critical viewing. Regardless, this remains one of the high points of the Disney canon and should certainly be seen.

Couldn’t find an original trailer online, so this one is for the early ‘90s video release

Up next: Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Insert Title Here–Disney and Spike

Every week there are tons of newly released films, Blu-rays, books, comics, and CDs, but the truth is, very few of them are worth your time. That’s where this feature comes in. Each posting attempts to highlight the best new media releases of the coming week. It’s far from exhaustive, and of course it will be mostly according to my taste, but I’ll try to do my best to include a wide variety, so hopefully you’ll see something that interests you too.

Disney Blu-Rays
This week sees the release of three Disney Blu-Rays of classic films: Pocahontas (coupled with the direct to video Pocahontas II), The Aristocats, and a second two-pack consisting of The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.Disney has consistently done an excellent job remastering their animated library for Blu-Ray release, and I see no reason that trend would change with these releases. Additionally, cel animated films see some of the greatest visual benefit from being released on the format, so there’s really no reason not to pick these up. The timing certainly works well for me, as we’re currently approaching the viewing of The Aristocats for my D52 project.

Spike #1
This mini-series spins off from the storyline of Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9.
Spike, having left Buffy once again, sets off on his own mission with his alien spaceship crew.
Yes, it sounds strange, but Dark Horse has done a very good job with the license, and, like their
other titles, it is being executive produced by Joss Whedon, so I’m confident it will turn out well.
Sleep well,

DTE

Insert Title Here - Jaws and Hunger Games

Every week there are tons of newly released films, Blu-rays, books, comics, and CDs, but the truth is, very few of them are worth your time. That’s where this feature comes in. Each posting attempts to highlight the best new media releases of the coming week. It’s far from exhaustive, and of course it will be mostly according to my taste, but I’ll try to do my best to include a wide variety, so hopefully you’ll see something that interests you too.

Jaws Blu-ray

Spielberg's breakthrough film, and also one that helped spawn the age of the blockbuster, is getting its Blu-ray debut this week. Over the next year, Universal will be releasing some of its most important catalogue titles to Blu-ray as part of its 100th anniversary celebration, including many that have never been on the format, and Jaws is viewed as one of the most exciting releases. I’ve never actually gotten around to seeing the film, but I’ll definitely be picking it up.

The Hunger Games Blu-Ray

The first film in the Hunger Games quadrilogy does quite a good job of translating the popular book to the screen. It has some pacing issues and suffers for its PG-13 rating, but is an enjoyable adaptation. Not overly violent and enjoyable enough that this should be a safe bet for most people to pick up when it’s released this Saturday.
Sleep well,

DTE

D52–Alice in Wonderland

Following right on the heels of Cinderella is another literary adaptation from Disney, 1951’s Alice in Wonderland. Though it had a notoriously hectic production, that process actually turned out quite a good film, perhaps even better for all the chaos surrounding it.

The animation on display is deliberately more “cartoony” than other feature length films from Disney, and combined with the surreal visuals, it fits the tone of the original book perfectly. The characters are fantastic, and each of the scenes easily works all on its own. It is only when all of the scenes are strung together to make the whole that a little of the real world turmoil begins to seep through. Since each segment was produced more or less independently of the others, it feels as though is scene is simply trying to outdo the previous one, rather than following an ebb and flow of wackiness designed by the director. While this would spell disaster for most films, it almost works for this material, making it only a minor problem.

This film is a personal favourite of mine, despite its flaws. The controlled chaos is endlessly entertaining, as is all of the wordplay in the dialogue. This film definitely stands up, even after 60 years, and should be seen.

The original 1951 trailer

Next: Peter Pan (1953)

D52–Cinderella

1950 marked Disney’s return to true full length animated features, and it was quite a return. Cinderella stood as the strongest of the princess films for 40 years, before finally being dethroned by Beauty and the Beast, but we’ll come to that in a few months.

There is next to nothing negative that can be said about this film. The animation is great, with the humans in particular standing out, having finally settled into a balance between realism and cartoon that is still maintained as the standard to this day. The music is memorable, the characters charming, and the story entertaining throughout.

This film easily stands up to the test of time. There is nothing about it that feels old fashioned or dates it. Though it would be truly surprising if anyone who considers themself a Disney or animation fan has not seen Cinderella, this is a film that will be just as enjoyable for anyone who chooses to watch it, and that is something that everyone should endeavour to do.

The original 1950 trailer

Next: Alice in Wonderland (1951)

D52–The Adventures of Ichabod and Mister Toad

The last of the omnibus films, this 1948 effort is also one of the best. It opens with a tale inspired by The Wind In The Willows, following Mr. Toad as he deals with the consequences of his frivolous spending and reckless behaviour, and then transitions to a telling of the classic Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

As it only attempts to tell two stories over course of its 68 minute runtime, each tale is given more room to breathe. Though the animation style for both is similar, their tone differs immensely. Where Mr. Toad is very fun and light throughout, Sleepy Hollow begins innocently enough, before transitioning to a much darker, spooky finale. Likewise, the narration in each segment is very different, but pitch perfect for the story being told, particularly so for Mr. Toad.

I’ve been a huge fan of Disney’s treatment of both of these stories since I was a small child in the early 90s, even though I only saw the film for the first time about five years ago. I was first exposed to Mr. Toad on the ride at Disneyland when I was 5, and it remains one of my favourites.

On ride video of the original Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

I would also get a dose of Sleepy Hollow each year at Halloween, as the finale was included as part of the Disney’s Halloween Treat, a yearly special compiling several Halloween appropriate shorts that would air on the Wonderful World of Disney.

The first part of Disney’s Halloween Treat, one of my favourite childhood specials

Seeing them together, and in their complete form, is truly a treat for me, and also a very worthwhile experience for any Disney fan. It’s still a little hard to come by, but definitely worth seeking out this film.

Not the original trailer, but one for the mid-1990’s video release

Next up: Cinderella (1950)