Tag Archives: TV Movie

“Grease: Live!”, and Five Observations About The Show

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Like many people that likely watched “Grease Live,” I’m a huge fan of 1978’s “Grease.” I’ve seen it at least a thousand times and watch it every single time it’s on television. So naturally fans like me would go in to “Grease Live” comparing it to the 1978 movie, consciously and sub-consciously. It was a risky venture giving us a live broadcast of “Grease,” but FOX took a gamble, and a wise one by getting in on the live musical broadcast gimmick, starting off with one of the most entertaining musicals of all time. “Grease Live” is pretty much the same as we always knew it, seemingly taking bits and pieces from the 1978 movie and including numbers from the original musical. Surely enough while I was worried about what I was getting in to, a lot of my reservations about casting, and production were absolutely destroyed with what was a pretty damn fun, three hour broadcast.

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A Sister’s Nightmare (2013)

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What almost ruins the experience of “A Sister’s Nightmare” is its pacing. The pacing and tension are glacial to the point where I wondered if writer Shelley Gillen had any idea where it was going. Thankfully sticking with it leads in to a very interesting pay off in the finale where events unfold in to a welcome twist climax. I pretty much anticipated what would occur, but in the end I appreciated that the writers opted for a twist rather than simply turning “A Sister’s Nightmare” in to a typical protective parent thriller we’ve seen a thousand times. I’m not saying “A Sister’s Nightmare” is top notch thrills and chills, but it definitely builds up to a neat bang that compensates for the general mediocrity of its storytelling.

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The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

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With “The Lion Guard,” you have to keep telling yourself, it’s mainly a show for the kids, and you might be able to forgive some of the mistakes it makes. While it does make the wise choice of somewhat ignoring the lackluster sequels to “The Lion King,” it also adds unnecessary dimension to what was already a complex animated movie. Since the series “The Lion Guard” is touted for kids, I doubt Disney will do much to patch up continuity problems, so you have to decide if you want to acknowledge “The Lion Guard.” This time around, “The Lion Guard” is set somewhere during Simba’s reign and obviously before “The Lion King 2.” As a matter of fact, “The Lion Guard” essentially ignores “Simba’s Pride,” altogether.

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Chilling Visions: 5 States of Fear (2014)

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Chiller Films’ “Chilling Visions” is on its way to being a solid series of anthology films made up of some of the best horror voices around. While I really enjoyed “5 Senses of Fear” despite being a mixed bag, “5 States of Fear” is a noticeable step down in quality. I really like the devotion of horror tales to certain ideas of psychology and fear. I also really like giving indie filmmakers a voice with highly publicized anthology horror films, I just wish “5 States of Fear” was more well put together and coherent. It’s not a bad movie, but the producers stretch the idea so far, it’s kind of pointless continuing the gimmick by tale two.

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How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

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It’s hard to imagine a more perfect adaptation of a Dr. Seuss story than the 1966 Chuck Jones feature; perhaps, “The Butter Battle Book.” In either case, I was one of the many children that grew up watching the TV version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” It’s such a wonderful combination of talents and rich enthusiasm for the source material, that it’s tough to not like it. There’s Boris Karloff, Chuck Jones, and Dr. Seuss, not to mention the perfectly simplistic tale about anti-materialism and the true meaning of Christmas.

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Northpole: Open for Christmas (2015)

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Yes, primarily Hallmark have used the “Northpole” movies to sell whatever kitschy Christmas ornament they’re touting for the year, but they’ve accidentally built a neat Christmas movie series I want to see more of. Years ago, I would have really loved the adventures of Clementine the Elf, and her quest to restore the Christmas spirit in one unhappy soul. Right now, she’s still a charming Christmas heroine played by the always adorable Bailee Madison. Madison doesn’t even have to do much to look like an Elf, as she’s given pointy ears, and achieves the rest with her wide smile, and large saucer eyes.

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The Original Christmas Classics: Anniversary Collector’s Edition [Blu-ray]

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For most fans of Christmas and the holiday season, every year comes with two regular guests: Charlie Brown and Rankin Bass. For folks that love the Rankin Bass stop motion and animation features that feature a wide universe filled with characters like Frosty and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Classic Media unleashes a wonderful box set of some of their best and most aired animated classics that celebrate the spirit of Christmas and the holidays. There are seven specials total, all of which have been celebrated since their release, and they’re given another release on Blu-Ray for the sake of posterity.

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