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DVD Reviews: “Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection: X-Men Volumes 3 & 4″

Picking up where they left off earlier this year, Disney and their new acquisition, Marvel Comics, have released the next two volumes of their “Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection” with the 2 DVD sets, X-Men Volume 3 and X-Men Volume 4. These DVDs continue in the release of every episode from the 1990′s hit Saturday morning TV series. X-men aired for five seasons and featured a popular lineup of Marvels band of mutants from the early Clinton decade. Those characters... Read More

Blu-ray Review: “Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection”

Boasting wonderfully silly storylines, a maddeningly addictive theme song, and distinctive stop-motion clay animation in the CGI era, Aardman Animation’s Wallace and Gromit have gone to the moon, won Academy Awards, and even gotten their own full-length motion picture — but they’ve never gone to Blu-ray until now. Timed to coincide with the DVD release of the new Wallace & Gromit short A Matter of Loaf and Death, the expansive Wallace & Gromit: The Complete... Read More

Book/CD Review: “Sunday in Kyoto”

You may never have heard of Gilles Vigneault, but he’s a cultural icon in Canada, particularly in Quebec, where his music so popular that one of his songs has replaced “Happy Birthday” as the birthday party anthem of choice. One of Vigneault’s fans is Roland Stringer, founder of publishing company The Secret Mountain; he’s referred to Vigneault as “French Canada’s Pete Seeger,” and now, he’s giving Vigneault a chance to raise... Read More

DVD Review: “The Suite Life on Deck: Anchors Away!”

The Suite Life on Deck: Anchors Away! (2009, Disney) purchase from Amazon: DVD The Suite Life on Deck continues the storied saga of Zack and Cody, those lovable characters created by Dylan and Cole Sprouse on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. That long-running Disney show had run its course, so Disney came up with this “Love Boat for kids” idea to keep the Sprouse twins in the fold. The characters moved from the fancy hotel where they lived (in a suite) with their mother... Read More

DVD Review: “Sonny with a Chance: Sonny’s Big Break”

Sonny with a Chance: Sonny’s Big Break (2009, Disney) purchase from Amazon: DVD Disney’s Sonny with a Chance is cut from the same cloth as the mouse house’s other tween sitcoms: bright, pretty young ingénue thrown into a crazy situation and surrounded by an ensemble of wacky supporting characters. In this case, the female star is Demi Lovato; the budding young music star that also has appeared in the Disney hit films, Rock Camp and Princess Protection Program. Lovato... Read More

DVD Review: “Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Enchanted Musical Edition”

Having seemingly reached a lull in its neverending reissue cycle, Disney has been scouring the vaults for “classics” of dubious distinction this year, including Pete’s Dragon, a barrage of Pooh films, and now Bedknobs and Broomsticks, the light ‘n’ fluffy 1971 release that put Angela Lansbury on a flying bed, is getting its latest reintroduction to the marketplace. This latest iteration, which follows 25th and 30th anniversary reissues, is dubbed... Read More

CD Review: Peter Himmelman, “My Trampoline”

Before They Might Be Giants turned crossing over to kid’s music into a viable business model, Peter Himmelman was doing it — and unlike the whimsical TMBG, Himmelman never seemed like a natural fit for a younger demographic. This isn’t to say Himmelman’s “adult” CDs are inappropriate for younger ears, but they aren’t exactly whimsical, either; in fact, they’re often harrowing self-examinations prompted by grown-up stuff like death,... Read More