Nick’s Picks 04/04/12

WORLDFEST FILM FESTIVAL – April 13 – 22

BETRAYED – A Case of mistaken identity causes much mishap and various outcomes when three hit men break into a home and kidnap who they think is the owner of the domicile in question.

THE BLACK DOVE – Just released from 18 years in prison, Jake Williams (John Savage) must come to terms with his new life and recover his lost treasure, the rare black Gibson Dove guitar.

DREAMS AWAKE – A young woman while on vacation with her disconnected family is drawn to mystic Mt. Shasta where her true spiritual Journey begins. This film also stars Erin Gray.

ENEMY OF THE MIND – A hardened cop chases the shadow of a killer whose deadly trail he believes started with the murder of his wife, Abby, but each new victim adds more mystery.

GARBAGE – Garbage takes a poke at society’s growing obsession with celebrity life when Cuba Gooding Jr’s Oscar is found in the dump by one of the workers and his life goes topsy-turvy.

INSIDE OUT – In his freshman college year, Vietnamese student, discovers the lure of a new girlfriend involved in the occult arts who might derail his Christian faith.

JACOB – When Jacob’s little sister, Sissy, is murdered by her drunken step father, Otis, Jacob retaliates the only way he knows how. All hell breaks loose as the carnage begins to take hold.

JUST 45 MINUTES FROM BROADWAY – Many old family secrets come to light when a gathering to meet the fiancee of the older of two sisters ignites drama amidst this generational family.

POPULATION 2 – In a post-apocalyptic world, young Lilith wander the remains of civilization scavenging what she can to merely survive day by day without much hope for what the future holds.

SMITTY – A young boy is sent to stay with his Grandfather (Peter Fonda), who is a stranger to him and life of the ranch teaches him to mend his misbehavior and poor attitude through the help of the lovable canine, Smitty. Also starring Lou Gossett, Jr., Mira Sorvino and Boo Boo Stewart and introducing Brandon Tyler Russell.

THREE OF A KIND – An abusive drug lord finds that his wife is having an affair with the bodyguard he assigned to watch her and soon, the game of cat and mouse begins…who will win in the end?

DVD REVIEWS

FREE DVD GIVEAWAY

We are doing a Free DVD Giveaway! If you are interested in a chance at winning a free copy of Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, Wubbzy: A Wuzzleburg Tale, The Sitter, Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, Great Expectations, Nuclear Aftershocks, Super Jail: Season 2, Immortals, Elmo’s Learning Adventure or Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip Wrecked, it is really easy! All you have to do is send me an email at HoustonMovieGuy@gmail.com. The subject line of the email should read DVD GIVEAWAY. In the body of the email, be sure to put your name, full mailing address and which DVD or Blu-ray you would like. Winners will be selected by random drawing. Best of luck!

ELMO’S LEARNING ADVENTURE – Warner

Especially designed for young children, this fun-filled collection brings the teaching power of Sesame Street into your home with Storybooks, Activity Books and Adventure Cards that work together to prepare your child to start school with a wide range of skills — and a smile!

IMMORTALS – Fox

Immortals explodes off the screen with action-packed battles, mythological adventure and an all-star cast. In this epic tale of vengeance and destiny, power-mad King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) threatens to destroy all of humanity on his maniacal quest to obtain the ultimate weapon – the legendary Epirus Bow that gives the power to unleash war on both Heaven and Earth. But Theseus (Henry Cavill), a heroic young villager chosen by the gods, rises up to stop Hyperion’s brutal rampage. With supernatural help from the beautiful oracle Phaedra (Freida Pinto), Theseus embraces his destiny and leads a fierce band of warriors in a desperate fight for the future of mankind.

SUPERJAIL: Season Two – Cartoon Network

The second season of Superjail is finally here! The disc contains all ten episodes, plus episode commentary. The band Cheeseburger, who are best known for the Superjail theme song, are also featured on the DVD, with concert footage and an animated music video. Other special features include interviews, animatics, and more. In all its hilarity, this show will keep you in stitches!

GREAT EXPECTATIONS – PBS

An orphan boy meets an escaped convict, a crazed rich woman, a bewitching girl, and grows up to have great expectations of wealth from a mysterious patron, in Great Expectations, Charles Dickens remarkable tale of rags to riches to self-knowledge.

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: Chip Wrecked – Fox

In the third entry in the popular live-action/animated series, Alvin, Simon, Theodore, their guardian Dave (Jason Lee), old foe Ian (David Cross), and Chipettes Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor wind up marooned on a tropical island. Their adventure includes an encounter with a mysterious castaway named Zoe (Jenny Slate), a dangerous volcano, a buried treasure, and a spider bite that brings about an odd change in Simon.

LEGO NINJAGO: Masters of the Spinjitzu – Cartoon Network

The pilot episode begins with an orphaned teenage blacksmith named Kai who lives with his sister Nya. Kai works as a blacksmith to sell them as armor at his family’s shop called “Four Weapons”. Suddenly an army of skeleton warriors attack the village under instructions from their master, Lord Garmadon, to kidnap Nya. Their leader, Samukai and General’s Kruncha and Nuckal (who constantly bicker) also steal a map hidden in the shop and nearly kill Kai when Samukai knocks down a water tower using four daggers, causing it to almost crush him. Fortunately, a ninja master known as Sensei Wu defends Kai using the art of Spinjitzu, forcing Samukai’s forces to retreat, but capture Nya before they escape. Kai, eager to save his sister and follow the skeleton army, is told by Wu that Garmadon is his older brother, who was banished to the Underworld, where he used Spinjitzu to gain control of Samukai’s army, and is searching for the four Golden Weapons. He convinces him to train to become a Ninja and learn to fight Garmadon’s army and eventually save his sister, along with Ninjago itself.

THE SITTER – Fox

Adventures in Babysitting meets “Superbad” in this raunchy comedy starring Jonah Hill as Noah, a suspended college student who becomes the unlikely–and unqualified–sitter to his neighbor’s children (Max Records, Landry Bender, Kevin Hernandez). But his girlfriend’s (Ari Gaynor) promise of sex in exchange for cocaine forces Noah to bring the kids along on a wild trek across the city, pursued by a psychotic drug dealer (Sam Rockwell). With J.B. Smoove, Method Man.

WUBBZY: A Wuzzleburg Tale – Anchor Bay

Once upon a time, there was the most enchanted Wuzzleburg collection of tales yet! In these six charming episodes, Wubbzy goes on a fairy-tale adventure, shrinks himself to play in Daizy’s dollhouse, turns detective to solve a mystery, saves Walden from a Jellygator and gets more than he bargained for when his favorite storybook character comes to life! Join everybody’s favorite bendy-tailed buddy for loads of ‘happily ever after’ fun, with valuable lessons about kindness and cooperation along the way!

BEING ELMO: A Puppeteer’s Journey – Docurama

Beloved by millions of children around the world, Elmo is an international icon. However, few people know the soft-spoken man behind the furry red monster: Kevin Clash. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey follows Clash s remarkable career, while also offering a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop. As a teenager growing up in Baltimore in the 1970s, Clash had very different aspirations from his classmates. He wanted to be a part of Henson s team, the creative force responsible for delivering the magic of Sesame Street on a daily basis. With a supportive family behind him, Kevin made his dreams come true. Featuring interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and Clash himself, filmmaker Constance Marks insightful and personal documentary tells the story of one of the world s most adored and recognizable characters and the visionary behind the icon.

EAGLEHEART – Adult Swim

On a given day, Monsanto may battle a pair of evil twin gubernatorial candidates, surgically alter his appearance to investigate a string of elderly kidnappings, track missing mountain lions to the center of the earth, or punch people so hard they explode.

REGULAR SHOW SLACK PACK – Cartoon Network

Watch slacker park groundskeepers/friends Rigby (a Raccoon) and Mordecai (the Blue Jay) engaging in various goofy adventures. Expect to see plots about a magic keyboard, unleashing video game baddies, Death Kwon Do martial arts, a grilled cheese deluxe, antimatter, a rock band, Mordecai and Rigby’s future selves, a TV search, a song coming to life as a cassette tape, a suspicious radio DJ, the “death” of Rigby, time travel, prank calls, a bad memory, and ducks. Humorous entertainment for all!

LOST KEATON – Kino Lorber

For Buster Keaton, the era of the talkies was a tumultuous time. As a result of signing with MGM, the quality, the quality of his ambitious, eclectic comedies began to decline and in 1934, he signed a contract with Earle W. Hammons Educational Pictures which, despite its name, specialized in comedy short subjects. Keaton s move to Educational was a return to his roots, crafting a stream of two reel comedies in rapid succession, as he had done in the early 1920s, when he first refined his cinematic craft. The films Buster Keaton made with Educational Pictures (ALL sixteen of which are collected here) pay homage to his earlier work, but at the same time incorporated the element of sound, all while exploring new possibilities for his recurring comic persona, Elmer.

THE SEARCH FOR ONE EYE JIMMY – Kino Lorber

“One-Eye’’ Jimmy (Sam Rockwell) is missing and the search is on! Join this wild goose chase to find Jimmy with the most outrageous group of misfits– Junior, the thief who steals his friends’ cars; Joe Head, who’s always losing girlfriends to his grandfather; Lefty, all brawn and no brain; Disco Bean, who’s waiting for disco to make a comeback; Colonel Ron, the Vietnam vet who fishes for sneakers; and Madame Esther, a fortune teller who sells more hand cream than predictions. Along with the F.B.I., the Catholic Church and the Mob, everyone is looking for Jimmy in this hilarious romp through the streets and alleys of Brooklyn.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Sony

A murder mystery rife with suspense, scandal, sexual abuse, and some supremely intriguing characters, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an excellently crafted film adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s equally fascinating book of the same name. Larsson’s book was also the basis of a 2009 Swedish film (also with the same title), and while the Swedish film was good, this American version is far superior, thanks to fantastic cinematography and livelier pacing that results in a constant, electric tension that drives every second of the movie. The breathtaking footage of a snowy, remote island in Sweden thoroughly exudes bitter cold, and the attention to the smallest details, like the whistling of the wind through a door left ajar, makes the hairs on the back of viewers’ necks absolutely prickle. The suspense and the intricacy of the mystery are stellar, and even viewers who know the story well will find themselves sucked into the riddle being investigated by journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig).

STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER – Blue Underground

The stunning Edwige Fenech stars in this infamous shocker that packs more grisly violence and sexual depravity into each frame than most any other film in the entire giallo genre. There s succulent flesh aplenty as a mysterious killer dressed in black leather and wearing a motorcycle helmet begins butchering beautiful young fashion models with no mercy and one deranged request: Strip Nude for Your Killer! Nino Castelnuovo and Femi Benussi co-star in this sleazy 70s classic directed by Andrea Bianchi, now presented in a brand-new High Definition transfer from the original uncut and uncensored camera negative!

THE BODYGUARD – Warner

This 1992 crowd pleaser made almost as much money for Whitney Houston as its chart-busting soundtrack. A high-wattage star vehicle as only Hollywood can make, The Bodyguard stars Houston as a pop-music diva (now there’s a stretch) and Kevin Costner as the stern bodyguard who is assigned to protect her after the singer receives some nasty death threats. Pop star and bodyguard don’t hit it off at first, but they wear down each others’ defenses, and before long Houston is baring her tonsils with a rousing rendition of the Dolly Parton chestnut “I Will Always Love You.” The film, written by Lawrence Kasden, was originally intended for Steve McQueen, but the script languished for years before Houston took an interest in the project.

CHASING MADOFF – Cohen Media

At approximately 8:30am on December 11th, 2008 two federal agents entered the New York City penthouse of 133 East 64th Street and arrested Bernard Madoff, the admitted mastermind behind the largest act of financial fraud in world history. Ten years prior, Boston based securities analyst Harry Markopolos discovered that Bernard L. Madoff Securities was a Ponzi scheme. Based on the New York Times best-seller No One Would Listen, Chasing Madoff is the compelling story of how Markopolos and his team of investigators pieced together a chain of white-collar predators and revealed some of the most frightening truths behind the infamous scandal.

WAR HORSE – Warner

From legendary director Steven Spielberg comes the epic adventure War Horse, a tale of incredible loyalty, hope, and tenacity. Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway play, and set against the sweeping canvas of World War I, this deeply heartfelt story begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and his young trainer Albert. When they’re forced apart by war, we follow Joey’s extraordinary journey as he changes and inspires the lives of everyone he meets. Filled with spectacularly rich visuals — and complete with never-before-seen bonus features — War Horse is an incredible film and one of the most powerful and moving stories of friendship ever told.

SOUTHPARK: Season 15 – Paramount

All fourteen uncensored episodes from South Park’s landmark 15th season are loaded into this exclusive three-disc set. Join Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Cartman as they bro down on Broadway, become one with the HumancentiPad, and take on the evil, email-hacking WikiLeaks. Serve that with a side of royal pudding and some never-before-seen deleted scenes, and you’ve got a collection that will leave your wormhole tingling. AWKWAAARRDD!

THE FRESH BEAT BAND: Season 1 & 2 – Nickelodeon

Join the Fresh Beat Band for their first funky-fresh season! Kiki, Twist, Marina and Shout are four musical friends who do everything together – from going to Music School to rocking the Groovy Smoothie to making music at a luau! Whenever there’s a problem that needs solving, The Fresh Beat Band always find a way … a musical way! Will YOU catch the beat along with them!

TORCHWOOD MIRACLE DAY – BBC

When convicted child killer Oswald Danes (Pullman) miraculously survives his own execution, the footage holds America transfixed. And then everyone realizes that nobody is dying. All across the world, nobody dies. And then the next day, and the next, and the next. People keep aging — they get hurt and sick — but they never die. The result: a population boom, overnight. With all the extra people, resources are finite. It’s said that in four month’s time, the human race will cease to be viable. But this can’t be a natural event – someone’s got to be behind it. It’s a race against time as CIA agent Rex Matheson (Phifer) investigates a secret British institution named Torchwood that seems to hold the answers, and finds only two surviving members: Gwen Cooper (Myles), who has retreated to a remote Welsh hideaway with her new family, and the mysterious, brilliant Captain Jack Harkness (Barrowman). But soon they all find themselves in the same fight against the greatest threat humanity has ever known – humanity itself.

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