After Viacom acquired Paws Inc. Jim Davis’ orange feline icon has been getting his due on DVD thanks to PBS of all places. For the last few years, PBS has taken it upon themselves to give Garfield fans the treatment of the character that they’ve been asking for, for a long time. The long hard to find releases of the original series are now readily available in crisp transfers. Thankfully, the series is about as good as ever. Even without the nostalgia goggles, “Garfield and Friends” is hilarious and Garfield at his best.
Category Archives: Collector’s Den
TV on DVD: Warner Archive’s Complete Series
I’m a big fan of “Josie and the Pussycats.” I think the theme song one of the most raucously entertaining themes ever made, while the cartoon is one of the better byproducts of the “Scooby Doo” influence. Hoping to continue the series, Hanna Barbera took their franchise to the more obvious setting: Space! And they branched out in to orbit with Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space: The Complete Series, now on Blu-Ray.
Earwig and the Witch (2020) [Blu-Ray/DVD]
I’m one of the traditionalists that think Studio Ghibli should have stuck to hand drawn animation, but sometimes there’s just no fighting change. With “Earwig and the Witch” there’s so much new, that you’re almost tricked in to forgetting that the movie almost has no real narrative. At all. This is one of Studio Ghibli’s more aimless movies that doesn’t have a whole lot to it. Substantially, the movie packs in some great animation, and it’s quite startling how some of the motion for some scenes looks so realistic. I’m not going to say that the movie is an accomplishment in regards to Ghibli because Pixar has pulled off so much better.
Hell, Dreamworks has accomplished so much more with this medium.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge (2020) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
I’m glad there’s a lot more momentum being picked up with “Mortal Kombat” as an IP, as the series deserves a cinematic universe. It’s a series filled with mythology, and alternate universes, and monsters, as well as some vicious gore. Despite past flubs with animated attempts at “Mortal Kombat,” Warner Bros. “Scorpion’s Revenge” is a solid return to the animated medium. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel as far as “Mortal Kombat” goes, but it’s a basic meat and potatoes primer that can act as an entry way for new fans.
Switchblade Sisters (1975): Special Edition [Blu-Ray]
Jack Hill is back and taking on one of the sleaziest and yet entertaining pictures of his career. “Switchblade Sisters” is a thrilling gang picture that can be taken alongside “The Warriors.” It’s a tale of fracture love triangle, a gang torn asunder, and a pretty excellent adaptation of a classic Shakespeare tale. “The Switchblade Sisters” is exploitation, but cut from prime material as Hill is able to derive a lot from such a minimal budget. He also grabs some excellent turns from the cast, including the now iconic Patch, played by Monica Gayle.
Prepare for The Snyder Cut with the Batman Bat-Tech Figures
With the hit premiere of the Snyder Cut on HBO Max, the excitement around the movie has had DC fans on the edge of their seats for a while now, and if you’ve managed to stay away from spoilers, well the suspense is almost over. Plus, just in time for the new Justice League, Spin Master and DC have partnered together to unveil the Batman Bat-Tech figure line. The Bat-Tech collection features exciting, high-tech styles of figures to collect featuring a variety of 4-inch and 12-inch figures from the Batman universe.
Characters such as Batman himself and the Joker (who appear in Justice League), as well as others including Batwoman, The Riddler, Nightwing and more come to life! Ready to collect them all (including rare ones)? Do Batman and Joker team up in the movie? Will Batman succeed in his path of redemption? The Batman Bat-Tech figures arrive just in time for the Snyder Cut, are for Ages 3+, and can be found at Walmart, Target and Amazon.
Running Time (1997): Special Edition [Blu-Ray]
It’s not often that we get crime thrillers that unfold in real time, but Josh Becker’s indie “Running Time” takes a shot and does a great job of it. “Running Time” is true to its word, a movie that unravels over the course of a little over an hour, and the run time for the narrative is apt. The movie is not too long, refusing to pad the story, buts it’s never too short to where we’re left asking questions. It runs a good pace as a tense drama that feels kind of like a prologue to “Reservoir Dogs.” Campbell is stellar and the movie almost makes it to the finish line without a hitch. Almost, but not quite.