DVD Collectors Online

Futurama: Bender's Game, a review by Dragonfire

Futurama: Bender's Game

With fuel prices skyrocketing, the Planet Express crew sets off on a dangerous mission: to infiltrate the world's only dark-matter mine, source of all spaceship fuel.  But deep beneath the surface lies a far stranger place...a medieval land of dragons and sorcery and intoxicated knights who look suspiciously like Bender.  So park your hover-car and saddle up your unicorn for Futurama's grandest adventure yet... Bender's Game.

My Thoughts

I loved Futurama and am still annoyed that Fox canceled it - along with some other very good shows.  Anyway, I was very happy when I learned that some direct to DVD Futurama movies were being made and I got the first two, Futurama: Bender's Big Score and Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs when they came out.  This movie didn't reference anything that happened in the first two, so it is more self contained than they were.  There were no story threads left unresolved from the second one.

The plot was a bit different, but I think that is typical of Futurama in general.  It was very entertaining and I think fans will be happy with it.  The story featured a combination of things connected to Dungeons and Dragons and The Lord of the Rings that I think worked very well and was very entertaining.  It was hilarious to watch Bender get sucked into the game and end up in a robot asylum.  The characters ended up in a fantasy world that was very interesting.  I thought the movie was funny as well.  The characters still acted like they had throughout the series without anyone having a major personality change.  Leela, Fry, and Bender really ended up with the most to do overall.  The other regular characters like the Professor, Amy, Hermes and Dr. Zoidberg were also around. 

I also enjoyed the extras.  There is a short featurette featuring a few men involved in the making of the movie talking about Dungeons and Dragons and how they incorporated it into Futurama.  They pointed out some references to the game that popped up during the episodes.  There was one deleted scene shown and some outtakes from recording sessions with the voice cast that were funny.  It would have been nice if there had been more extras. 

I don't like the case for the DVD..that is a minor thing, but I just don't like it.  Like the first two Futurama movies, it is just cardboard.  It says on the case that it is carbon neutral and how the makers are being more environmentally friendly.  I don't have a problem with that, but this type of case does not keep the disc secure.  I have to be very careful with these cases because I've had the first two movies go flying out when I was just picking up the case.  It wasn't like I was waving it all around or anything.  Anyway, the movie is still great and fans of Futurama will probably enjoy it.

 

(From My November Alphabet Marathon on November 6th, 2008)

24: Redemption, a review by DJ Doena

Because the seventh season of 24 is about to start (my Sunbird tells me: Sunday) I decided to watch the "bridge movie".


Synopsis: The following takes place between 3 pm and 5 pm. All events occur in real time. More than a year has passed since the events of the sixth day of Jack Bauer. Now he's somehwere in Africa and he hides from the grasp of the US justice department. They try  to subpoena him to a hearing because he's tortured a man.
But he can't even hide in Africa and it gets worse. A local warlord has built an army of children to putsch against the democratic government. The american embassy evacuates all american citizens and Jack tries to help an old special forces comrade to rescue a group of children.

My Opinion: The movie is not outstanding but still ok and in the typical "24" style. It's also nice to see Jack outside of L.A. even though he doesn't behave that differently. But they made a number of interesting hints that Washington hasn't changed at all and that intrigue and schemes will have their share of the seventh day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxPfrcZg91c

(From 24: Redemption on January 8th, 2009)

Birthday Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Smallville: Season 4
Spell
As Clark and Lois arrange a surprise 18th birthday party for Chloe, Lana receives a mysterious book that belonged to her French ancestor Isabel, who was burned as a witch in the 1600's. Through the book, Isabelle possesses Lana's body and she resurrects two other witches in the bodies of Chloe and Lois. The trio set about tracking down the Kryptonian Stones, spelling trouble for Jason, Lex and Clark.

My Thoughts:
Definitely not the best episode out there... but I enjoyed it. Of course the girls looked great in this one. But I never did care too much for the Isobel storyline in Smallville.



(From Birthday Marathon on May 25th, 2009)