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Justice League: Doom

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  • Title: Justice League: Doom
  • IMDB: link

justice-league-doom-blu-rayDC Comics latest animated feature adapts Mark Waid‘s “Tower of Babel” and pieces of Alex Ross and Jim Krueger‘s Justice as a new straight-to-DVD feature. The plot of the film features Vandal Savage (Phil Morris) putting together a Legion of Doom to take apart the Justice League using contingency plans stolen from Batman (Kevin Conroy).

As Batman finds himself blindsided by Bane (Carlos Alazraqui), Wonder Woman (Susan Eisenberg), Superman (Tim Daly), the Martian Manhunter (Carl Lumbly), the Flash (Michael Rosenbaum), and Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) all find themselves taken completely out of action by Cheetah (Claudia Black), Metallo (Paul Blackthorne), Ma’alefa’ak (Lumbly), Mirror Master (Alexis Denisof), and Star Sapphire (Olivia d’Abo). It’s the unplanned for appearance of Cyborg (Bumper Robinson) who helps throw a wrench into the plan and save the day.

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Carnage

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  • Title: Carnage
  • IMDB: link

carnage-blu-rayAdapted by director Roman Polanski and writer Yasmina Reza from Reza’s play God of Carnage, Carnage gives us two couples (Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet) discussing a recent altercation between their sons when one strikes the other with a stick in the park.

What starts as civil discussion of the events soon leads the couples turn on each other and then their own spouses as all pretense is washed away. Think of it as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Lite.

The story would probably have worked better for me on stage where the characters are forced to remain on stage in the apartment where the audience can continue to watch the action unfold. The attempts at civility used to keep both couples together don’t work as well on film where we know the camera can follow them out, and there are more than a couple of moments that should bring events to a close.

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The Muppets

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  • Title: The Muppets
  • IMDB: link

the-muppets-blu-rayThis past summer the Muppets returned to the big screen in a big way thanks to co-writer and star Jason Segel, along with some great (and Oscar-winning) songs from the Flight of the Conchords‘ Bret McKenzie, and all of our favorite Muppet characters including Kermit the Frog (Steve Whitmire), Fozzie (Eric Jacobson), Gonzo (Dave Goelz), Rowlf (Bill Barretta), Scooter (David Rudman), Animal (Jacobson), Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mahem, Beaker (Whitmire), Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (Goelz), and Miss Piggy (Jacobson).

When the Muppet Studios are threatened by a greedy oil baron (Chris Cooper) who plans to tear the studio down to drill for oil, Walter (Peter Linz), the Muppets biggest fan, along with his brother Gary (Segel) and Gary’s fiance Mary (Amy Adams) pull the Muppets back together to put on one more show. For more on the movie read my original review.

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The Three Musketeers

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  • Title: The Three Musketeers
  • IMDB: link

the-three-musketeers-blu-rayOne year after breaking into the secret vault of Leonardo Da Vinci to steal plans for a flying war machine for France only to be betrayed by the duplicitious Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich), the thee most famous Musketeers Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson), and Aramis (Luke Evans) find themselves down on their luck only to be roused back into action by the impetuous and cocky young D’Artagnan (Logan Lerman).

The screenplay from Alex Litvak and Andrew Davies far more resembles a braindead action flick than the original tale of Alexandre Dumas. As you’d expect from director Paul W.S. Anderson style and ridiculous action sequences involving flying boats take precedence over story at every turn as the Musketeers try to save their foppish king (Freddie Fox), prevent a war, get revenge on Milady, and relive their glory days.

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Nick Willing’s Neverland

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  • Title: Neverland
  • IMDB: link

neverland-dvdWritten and directed by Nick Willing Neverland is a two-part mini-series and prequel to Peter Pan which throws in a little Oliver Twist for good measure. When we meet him Peter Pan (Charlie Rowe) is the leader of a group of young homeless thieves under the command of the Fagin-ish John Hook (Rhys Ifans).

While robbing an antique house the boys and Hook come across a mysterious glowing orb that is the man’s ticket into a different reality. Simply by hitting the orb Hook transports them all into Neverland. The first we witness the orbs’ power in in the mini-series opening scene in which an entire shipload of pirates, led by Captain Elizabeth Bonny (Anna Friel) find themselves transported to a magic land where they never grow old.

While Hook and the rest of the boys find themselves abducted by pirates who are obsessed with the magical properties of pixie dust, Peter and Fox (Lorn Macdonald) meet a tribe of Indians.

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