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"FAMILY GUY: IT’S A TRAP" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The folks behind “Family Guy” continue their “Star Wars” spoofs (allegedly strong-armed by Fox executives, if you are to believe the opening crawl of this movie) with a knock-off of “Return of the Jedi.” Another power outage leads to Peter Griffin continuing the story of the “Family Guy” characters in the “Star Wars” universe with himself as Han Solo, Chris as Luke and of course Stewie as Darth Vader.
WHAT I LIKED
I am both a “Star Wars” fan and a “Family Guy” fan. Because I grew up with the “Star Wars” films, I have more to love about them than “Family Guy,” but I’ve enjoyed these spoofs quite a bit since the original “Blue Harvest.”
This new installment in this mash-up universe is funny. Not as funny as the other two versions, but there’s still plenty of laughs to go around. Oddly enough, there’s a lot of similar jokes to the original MAD Magazine satire from 1983. I’m not saying there was any stolen material, but I find it wildly entertaining that two spoofs written almost 30 years apart would target the same plot holes and character problems.
Like the previous installments of this series, this is made with a lot of love to the “Star Wars” universe. And it takes a lot of love to enjoy it. Fortunately, there’s a lot of fandom crossover between “Family Guy” and “Star Wars.”
Now, can this be stretched into doing the prequels? I’m not sure about that.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
“Family Guy: It’s a Trap!” is the least of the crossover series, and it’s probably because the joke well is running a little dry. Still enjoyable, but it’s losing its edge. That’s my only real complaint about this knock-off. And, of course, if anyone out there is annoyed with “Family Guy” or “Star Wars,” you’ll detest a movie like this (but why would you even think about watching it if you have those feelings?).
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray comes with a DVD of the film with Digital Copy, which is always nice.
Bonus material includes an audio commentary, a “Making of the Scene” breakdown, a look at how to draw the characters with Peter Shin, a voice mail amalgamation from Darth Stewie, Sock Puppet Outtakes and a look at some of the crew members competing in the “Star Wars” Trivial Pursuit game.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone who likes both “Family Guy” and “Star Wars.”
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"24: SEASON 8" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The eighth day is Jack Bauer’s last... at least on television. Kiefer Sutherland stars as the counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer, who helps the New York branch of CTU help prevent the assassination of a foreign diplomat. While political extremists fight to bring nuclear materials into the Big Apple, Bauer uncovers plans within plans of the current administration and CTU itself.
WHAT I LIKED
I came late to the “24” table, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the series since I started watching it in season five. Without the baggage of the first few seasons, it’s been easy to overcome some of the regret that comes with a series extending over the better part of a decade.
Like previous seasons of “24,” there has been plenty of action and some real threats. You cannot help but get behind Jack Bauer throughout the season, even though he actually takes a bit of a back seat in several of the episodes. There are also some strong new characters, played (sometimes surprisingly well) by Freddie Prinze Jr. and Katee Sackoff.
The best thing I can say about this season of “24” is that like its previous incarnations, there’s plenty of twists and turns to carry the plot through the entire day. It’s not just a single plan that is getting enacted, but rather a string of terrifying events that cause definite threats.
Also, with this being the final season of the groundbreaking cinematic show, we get to see some things wrap up rather nicely. We have enough openings to continue with the long-planned “24” feature film, but there’s also some closure on the fans’ favorite characters. And being the final season of the show on television, we get a few older characters to show up again, for better or for worse in the grand scheme of the story.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Compared to the other three seasons I have seen of “24,” this is probably the weakest in terms of story and motivation. A lot of this comes from burn-out rather than actually poor writing. After seven seasons, it’s impossible to not repeat various stories and plot twists. So much is crammed into a season that when things get revealed throughout Day 8, we cannot help but think back to the two or three times we’ve seen these things before.
Additionally, the overall storyline seemed a bit of a stretch in Season 8, especially with the motivations of President Alison Taylor (who has never had the commanding power of previous TV Presidents).
In this sense, it’s clear with this season that “24” is ending its run. Godspeed, good show. As sad as I was to see you go, it was probably your time.
DVD FEATURES
This six-disc set includes select extended episodes and several deleted scenes. There’s also “Scenemakers” (basic behind-the-scenes featurettes) on 21 of the 24 episodes, as well as a look at shooting for the Big Apple in “Virtually New York” as well as a look at designing the east coast CTU in “The Ultimate CTU.”
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
“24” fans.
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"ARCHER: THE COMPLETE SEASON ONE" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: FX Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In this animated FX series, Sterling Archer is considered one of the deadliest spies in the world. However, he’s actually an incompetent boob who skates out of dangerous situations as a result of pure luck and the help of others. Archer works at ISIS, which is led by his domineering mother, and he makes a mockery of the work place with non-stop sexual flings and neurotic co-workers.
WHAT I LIKED
Like “The League,” one of FX’s other shows that premiered last year, I never was interested in watching “Archer” during its inaugural broadcast. Cartoons for grown-ups have been very hit-or-miss for me. Sure, you have your big hitters, like “The Simpsons,” “South Park” and “Family Guy,” but there are other attempts that never quite make it.
However, getting a chance to watch the first season of “Archer,” I found it growing on me so much more than the pilot did when I caught it on a previous DVD release (which I think was “The League: Season One” a few months ago). Like any good series, it took some time to really get used to the characters and to stomach the voice of Chris Parnell as one of the characters. But I persevered, and the show has really turned into a clever little series.
The animation is crisp and cool, and I am probably more turned on by the buxom women in the cast than I should be. (Yeah, I’m a little ashamed about that.) But with the “Austin Powers” movies cooling on the DVD shelves, it’s nice to see a punchy, retro, clever and often deliciously inappropriately funny show about spies that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Archer relies on stereotypes and cliches about the spy film genre to make the jokes work, and it doesn’t pull its punches. Just as “The League” isn’t about fantasy football but rather the shenanigans of the people who play it, “Archer” isn’t a spy show but rather about the shenanigans of people who happen to be spies.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The first episode or two are a little rough, so if you’re unsure, you should definitely stick with it. By the end of the season, you’ll warm up to the series.
DVD FEATURES
Like other recent FX DVD releases, the “Archer” set comes with some cross-pollination of the shows. Pilot episodes of “The League” and “Louie” series are included on the two discs. Other features include an unaired network promo, a making-of featurette that covers the technical side of the production, deleted scenes and the most bizarre fever-dream of a n unaired pilot to this series I could have ever imagined.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who like inappropriate humor in animation.
