DVDS HAUNTED `HOUSE' AN `ANIMATED' THRILL RIDE.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor Houses are creepy -- at least in the Freudian sense. In dreams, rooms go on and on, seemingly with no end and no escape. And each room is fraught with peril, each with its own fears. (The psychological meanings are numerous, but we don't want to go on the couch On the Couch is an Australian television program formally broadcast on the Fox Footy Channel and it focuses on the current issues in the AFL. This is now broadcast on Fox Sports after the closure of Fox Footy Channel. The show airs on Monday night and is hosted by Gerard Healy. for that right now. ) The animated ``Monster House'' acknowledges those fears -- but in a kid-friendly, fun way that makes the film a delight, for both children and adults. ``Monster House'' uses the same technology as ``Polar Express,'' the latter directed by Robert Zemeckis (``Forrest Gump''), who served as an executive producer on this one. Instead of CGI CGI in full Common Gateway Interface. Specification by which a Web server passes data between itself and an application program. Typically, a Web user will make a request of the Web server, which in turn passes the request to a CGI application program. , the film uses real actors whose movements are digitally captured, giving it a slightly more real, fluid feel than most animation -- and adding to the excitement. The story involves three kids: the more serious D.J. (Mitchel Musso), the pudgy Chowder chowder, stew of fish or shellfish with potatoes, onions, and pork (usually salt pork), thickened with crumbled hard bread. The name chowder seems to have originated from the French word chaudière (Sam Lerner) and a feisty red-haired Jenny (Spencer Locke Spencer Locke (born September 20, 1991) is an American actress who has had various appearances as the role of "Candida" on Disney Channel's Phil of the Future. Prior to that, she had a recurring role as "Bitsy" on season one of the Nickelodeon series ). When the old man, Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi), who owns a creepy Victorian house Overview A Victorian house as built in the United States and Canada is a type of house popularized in the Victorian era. They are often three stories high with an octagonal or rounded tower, a wraparound porch and great attention paid to detail. , apparently dies of a seizure after a confrontation with the boys, the house starts acting threateningly, and soon the three kids are sucked in, even though the adults are -- as usual -- clueless clue·less adj. Lacking understanding or knowledge. clueless Adjective Slang helpless or stupid Adj. 1. . Though directed by recent UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX grad Gil Kenan, ``Monster House'' has all the earmarks of a thrill ride by Zemeckis, who did the ``Back to the Future'' trilogy. It's fast-paced with a touch of grossness for kids but not so much as to be offensive -- definitely not enough to give them nightmares, just a lot of fun. `Nacho Libre' There are comedies that are plain stupid -- and stupid comedies you laugh at. ``Nacho Libre'' is a bit of both, and is a launching pad for Jack Black's comic antics. Directed by ``Napoleon Dynamite's'' Jared Hess, the film riffs on Mexican wresting, which is apparently more colorful but no less ludicrous than its scripted American counterpart, which is, essentially, a soap opera soap opera Broadcast serial drama, characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, tangled interpersonal situations, and a melodramatic or sentimental style. with muscles and smacks. So the question is, how funny is a takeoff of something that's already pretty silly by most people's standards? More than you think, since Black is the star. The likable actor has helped prop up some other comedies -- ``Shallow Hal'' and ``School of Rock'' -- that needed his manic energy. As Nacho, a half-Mexican, half-Scandinavian monastery cook, Black plays a classic comic role -- a bumbler on the outside with delusions of being a superhero su·per·he·ro n. pl. su·per·he·roes A figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon, endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime. on the inside. In order to save an orphanage, he tries to win money in the ring with his wrestling partner, Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez). Black's silly Mexican accent and his macho tics could have been a recipe for disaster, but it's hard to dislike the guy. And it's hard to dislike ``Nacho,'' although it is pretty stupid. Older films They were only billed as the fourth and fifth leads in the 1933 film ``Flying Down to Rio,'' but Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire danced off with the public's attention, even though they only had a few moments together in the the big showpiece show·piece n. Something exhibited, especially as an outstanding example of its kind. showpiece Noun 1. anything displayed or exhibited 2. , ``The Carioca.'' It wasn't long before the dynamic duo
Dynamic Duo (다이나믹 듀오) is a Korean hip hop duo, made up of members Choiza and Gaeko (former members of the trio, CBMass). were off on their own with ``The Gay Divorcee di·vor·cée n. A divorced woman. [French, feminine past participle of divorcer, to divorce, from Old French, from divorce, divorce; see divorce. ,'' which included the great version of Cole Porter's ``Night and Day.'' The two films, along with ``Roberta,'' ``Carefree'' and ``The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers of the early 20th century. They are credited with invigorating the popularity of modern dancing. Vernon Castle (May 2, 1887 - February 15, 1918) was born William Vernon Blyth ,'' make up ``The Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2.'' For those who don't have Vol 1., there's Amazon.com exclusive's ``Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition,'' which has all 10 films plus a bonus disc. And for those who do have Vol. 1, there's ``Astaire & Rogers Partial Ultimate Collector's Edition,'' which also includes the bonus disc. Even when the plots are silly and the jokes are lame, Ginger and Fred always shined. Quentin Tarantino caught everyone's eye with his darkly funny, violent 1992 film ``Reservoir Dogs.'' The ``15th Anniversary Edition'' has some deleted scenes, an interview with Tarantino and a documentary that should please the fans of the film, which has a colorful cast that includes Harvey Keitel (Mr. White), Tim Roth (Mr. Orange) and Steve Buscemi (Mr. Pink). Television One way to to tell if a show is hitting its stride is when there is a certain amount of controversy about how it's developing. Season three of Showtime's ``The L Word'' is like that. Fans are torn by the direction of the stories about a group of Los Angeles friends -- mostly gay women, but some straight. The overall quality of the series, however, remains fairly high, with an attractive cast -- Jennifer Beals, Erin Daniels, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner, Pam Grier and Katherine Moennig -- and solid writing. The third season of Fox's ``The O.C.,'' which had been a trashy, soapy guilty pleasure for the first two years, disappointed some fans. The year ended with an unexpected death among the rich and beautiful, which may have been an attempt by the showrunners to put some spark into the series. Fox is only promising 16 more episodes; so season three may have been the beginning of its swan song. Out on DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. is the interesting documentary, ``The World According to Sesame Street,'' which airs at 9 tonight on KCET KCET Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (Japan) KCET Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology . It tells the story of how the acclaimed long-running children's program created by Jim Henson, who died in 1990, has positively influenced youngsters in such far-flung places as Kosovo. Also out is ``Sesame Street -- Old School, Vol. 1 (1969-1974),'' a sort of greatest hits from the era. If you like intelligent, civil British mysteries like I do, there are two enjoyable, if not great, ones: ``Jonathan Creek -- Season One,'' about a man (Alan Davies) who creates tricks for a magician and gets drawn into solving crimes by his journalist friend (Caroline Quentin); and ``Hamish Macbeth -- Series Two,'' which stars Robert Carlyle as a Scottish police constable who finds himself involved in mysteries bigger than the small town he polices. Speaking of the Brits, ``I'm Alan Partridge I'm Alan Partridge is a British sitcom. Two series were produced, the first in 1997 and the second in 2002. Six episodes were produced for each series. Co-creator Armando Iannucci has expressed doubts about creating a third [1]. Steve Coogan stars as Alan Partridge. -- Series 1'' -- a spoof of a BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. talk-show host starring the brilliant Steve Coogan (``Marie Antoinette,'' ``Tristram Shandy'') -- is very funny. But ``That's My Bush! The Definitive Collection'' -- from the ``South Park'' boys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone -- which began in 2001 before 9/11, is not. The parody of President George W. Bush's White House was more juvenile than amusing then, and given real events since, it's merely curious at best. Rob Lowman (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman@dailynews.com THE PRICES NEW FILMS ``Monster House'' (Columbia; $28.98) ``Nacho Libre'' (Paramount; $29.99) ``Slither'' (Universal; $29.98) ``An American Haunting -- Unrated Edition'' (Lionsgate; $28.98) ``The Road to Guantanamo'' (Columbia; $24.96) OLDER FILMS ``Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2'' (``Flying Down to Rio,'' ``The Gay Divorcee,'' ``Roberta,'' ``Carefree,'' ``The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle'') (Warner; $59.98) ``Reservoir Dogs: 15th Anniversary Edition'' (Lionsgate; $19.98) ``Hands Over the City'' (Criterion Collection; $39.95) TELEVISION ``The L-Word -- The Complete Third Season'' (Showtime; $69.99) ``The O.C. -- The Complete Third Season'' (Warner; $69.98) ``Justice League Unlimited Justice League Unlimited (or JLU) was the name of an American animated television series that was produced by and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero - Season One (DC Comics Classic Collection)'' (Warner; $44.98) ``MacGyver -- The Complete Final Season'' (Paramount; $38.99) ``Bewitched be·witch tr.v. be·witched, be·witch·ing, be·witch·es 1. To place under one's power by or as if by magic; cast a spell over. 2. To captivate completely; entrance. See Synonyms at charm. -- The Complete Fourth Season'' (Columbia; $39.95) ``Little House on the Prairie -- Special Edition Movie Boxed Set'' (Goldhil; $38.98) ``Wings -- The Complete Third Season'' (Paramount; $38.99) ``The Addams Family -- Volume One'' (MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. ; $29.98) ``Slings & Arrows - Season 2'' (Acorn; $29.99) ``Hamish Macbeth - Series Two'' (BBC Warner; $34.98) ``Nightmares & Dreamscapes -- From the Stories of Stephen King'' (Warner; $39.98) ``I'm Alan Partridge -- Series 1'' (BBC Warner; $29.98) ``Hannah Montana, Vol. 1 -- Livin' the Rock Star Life'' (Disney; $19.99) ``Voyage to the Bottom of Sea Season 2, Vol. 1'' (Fox; $29.98) ``The World According to Sesame Street (Sony Wonder; $19.98) ``Sesame Street -- Old School, Vol. 1 (1969-1974)'' (Sony Wonder; $39.98) ``The Facts of Life -- The Complete Third Season'' (Columbia; $29.95) ``Monarch of the Glen -- Series Five'' (BBC Warner; $59.98) ``Creature Comforts -- The Complete Second Season'' (Columbia; $24.96) ``Degrassi The Next Generation -- Season 4'' (Funimation; $49.98) ``Baywatch -- Season 1'' (First Look; $34.99) ``That's My Bush! The Definitive Collection'' (Paramount; $26.99) ``Jonathan Creek -- Season One'' (BBC Warner; $34.98) ``Greg the Bunny Greg the Bunny is an American sitcom that originally aired on Fox in 2002. It starred Seth Green and a hand puppet named Greg the Bunny, originally invented by the team of "Sean S. Baker", Spencer Chinoy and Dan Milano. Milano and Chinoy wrote and co-produced the Fox show. -- Best of the Film Parodies'' (Shout; $24.98) ``SCTV SCTV Second City Television SCTV Slow Scan Television SCTV Sea Cadet Training Vessel (Canada) SCTV Separation and Control Test Vehicle -- Best Of The Early Years'' (Shout; $39.98) FOR KIDS ``The Dancing Pumpkin'' (Edi Video; $9.98) CAPTION(S): photo Photo: ``Monster House,'' now out on DVD, acknowledges deep fears, but in a kid-friendly, fun way that makes the film a delight. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion