Nick’s Picks 12/05/12

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 Wu Dang, Thunderstruck, The Dark Knight Rises, Star Trek The Next Generation Season Two, Love & Valor, The Art 21 Collection, Frontline: Football High, The Magic School Bus Field Trip Fun and Games Featuring Robot Zot, WWE Survivor Series 2011 or Robot My First Collection Volume Four, 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!

WU DANG – Well Go USA

Wu Dang, a place where the treasure of martial arts Tai Chi originated. In early Republican China, rumors were going around about the treasure in Wudang Mountain. An American conspirator took his well-trained kung fu daughter to Wudang by sponsoring a Taoist martial arts competition, to steal the treasure. Out of expectation, a disciple represented Wudang to compete with other martial arts masters for the championship.

A VAMPIRE’S TALE – Lionsgate

When a dysfunctional family moves to a remote farm, it finds itself in the middle of a centuries-old feud. As night falls, terror emerges from the darkness in the form of a deadly seductress and a vampire cowboy, hell-bent on revenge. As evil continues to plague this family, they’ll discover that sometimes darkness is your only friend.

THUNDERSTRUCK – Warner

When Brian, a hopelessly uncoordinated young fan magically switches talents with his basketball hero (NBA Superstar Kevin Durant, playing himself), he becomes the star of his high school team while Kevin Durant suddenly can’t make a shot to save his life. But with the playoffs approaching, Brian learns that being a true winner involves working hard at your own game, and he tries to make things right in time to prevent a catastrophic end to his hero’s season.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES – Warner

It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.

THE UNIVERSE 3D – A&E

Throughout the history of our solar system, each of the planets have experienced their own unique catastrophes. Whether from the atmosphere or within the core of the planets themselves, the violent occurrences helped to shape the planets in original ways. A&E takes you back through time to see what events took place on the planets and allow the viewers to witness the transformation of Mars into a dusty and barren desert, the issues that caused Venus to transform into it’s inhospitable atmosphere as well as the epic disturbances that caused the rearranging of the gas planets and their trajectories. This set is simply spectacular and is perfect for the entire family!

STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION: Season Two – CBS Paramount

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Two travels warp speed into the next realm of adventure. Under the leadership of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), the Enterprise faces a season of new changes and big challenges. With Dr. Crusher on sabbatical, Chief Medical Officer Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) fills in. And Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) arrives as 10 Forward’s wise El-Aurian bartender. This voyage explores watershed moments, including Riker (Jonathan Frakes) experiencing the Klingon culture, Data (Brent Spiner) defending his humanity and the introduction of the Borg, a species of terrifying cybernetic conquerors threatening the fate of intelligent life. Presented for the first time on Blu-ray in 1080p high definition and digitally remastered 7.1 sound, this mission is not to be missed.

LOVE AND VALOR: The Intimate Civil War Letters – PBS

Based on the acclaimed book Love & Valor: The Intimate Civil War Letters is the tremendously moving story of a Union soldier and his wife during the Civil War. Jacob Ritner a Union captain from Iowa was a teacher farmer and abolitionist before the war. When he was called to duty-participating in a great adventure seeing new lands-his wife Emeline was left behind to raise four small children and manage the family farm. This film explores the couple’s devotion to one another throughout their separation their patriotism loneliness and anguish at the death of loved ones and changing views on the South and slavery. Narrated by Tony-® Award-winning actor Brian Dennehy Jacob and Emeline’s great great grandson Charles Larimer also lends his voice to the story telling the strange stories of how he found the letters. Filmed partly in cemeteries by the actual graves of the people mentioned in the letters Larimer reveals additional information about some of the people mentioned including a young runaway slave whom Jacob Ritner met in Mississippi in 1862 during the Vicksburg campaign and the Ice Merchant of Savannah who hosted Jacob Ritner for Christmas dinner in 1864 at the end of Sherman’s March to the Sea.

HISTORY IN 3D – A&E

History in 3D presents three fascinating programs for the viewer that is sure to be both education as well as entertaining. The first focuses on providing a glimpse into the bloody conflicts from World War Two. As the Nazis trek across Europe and the fall of Germany takes place, the moments were captured on film and then stored away from the public view. A&E has put the hidden films together for first time viewing of the public. The second episode presents the Titanic after 100 years since the disaster (2010). The expedition led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute researchers provides brilliant HD and 3D video of the wreck site as well as the stories of passengers and crew. The set concludes with The History of the World in Two Hours in 3D. Containing everything from the formation of the planet Earth to the sprouting of life and man, the History of the World provides over 14 billion years of history for the entire family to enjoy!

THE ART 21 COLLECTION – PBS

This Emmy-nominated collection contains the first, second, third, fourth & fifth seasons of PBS’ acclaimed documentary series, Art:21 (Art in the Twenty-First Century). At approx 1150 minutes total run time on 4 DVDs, it’s nearly 20 hours of art ecstasy! In it we take a look into the future at how art will be changing people’s lives in the 21st Century. This innovative series combines the sometimes incongruous media of television and art to explore the nature of creativity in the early-21st century. Hosted by a rotating roster of celebrity guests, the series travels the globe to profile a broad range of emerging and established men and women of varied cultural, religious, and geographic backgrounds. Among the artists featured in this series are painters, photographers, sculptors, and performance and video artists who use a wide variety of media and materials, technical innovation, tools and processes, and experimentation to create their work. Each one-hour program has been loosely structured around a broad category or theme to help audiences compare and contrast the artists profiled.

FRONTLINE: FOOTBALL HIGH – PBS

High school football has never had a higher profile, with nationally televised games, corporate sponsorships and minute-by-minute coverage on sports websites. FRONTLINE examines teams whose workout schedules, practices, and styles of play increasingly imitate the pros, and asks the question has the amped-up culture of high school football outrun necessary protections for the boys who play the game?

THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS: Field Trip Fun & Games – Scholastic

Hop on board the magical, transformable bus with 12 Friz-tastic episodes! Seatbelts everyone! Sparks of discovery fly with this 3-DVD set containing over five hours of the Emmy Award-winning animated science-adventure series. Based on the bestselling books, kids everywhere can get charged up about science by watching along as Ms. Frizzle and her class take field trips to the age of the dinosaurs and back again.

2011 SURVIVOR SERIES – WWE

The Superstars of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT all battle to be the ultimate survivors! For the 25th consecutive year, the Superstars of WWE come together for Survivor Series. Its unique 5-on-5 elimination matches have always been favorites among WWE fans and this year will see some unique teams built and destroyed. Many of the biggest superstars in WWE look to leave an indelible mark on the sports entertainment landscape.

SHIPPING WARS: Season One – A&E

Another in the series of reality shows that have hit the airways, Shipping Wars is rather creative and…well, good. Focusing on six independent individuals who transport goods for a living, the real life issues and battles over who gets what opportunity provide for hilarious fodder. Their weekly competitions begin with an online auction house for the independent shippers as they bid on the transport assignments with the lowest bid generally winning the job. Whether small to large packages or even live animals, the stakes are always high as the transporters rush to deliver their cargo on time and in pristine condition without losing any cash in the process.

ROBOT MY FIRST COLLECTION FEATURING ROBOT ZOT: Volume Four – Scholastic

My First Collection Vol. 4 is an engaging collection of stories certain to foster creativity and learning in your toddlers. Your toddlers will rhyme along with Robot Zot, learn the value of the appreciation in Too Many Toys, and be inspired to take small steps that can make big changes in the world with The Curious Garden. Interviews with Too Many Toys author/illustrator and Robot Zot illustrator David Shannon, The Curious Garden author Peter Brown, Fletcher and the Falling Leaves author Julia Rawlinson and Lion and the Mouse author Jerry Pinkney.

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Posted by FortBendStar on Dec 5 2012. Filed under Nick's Picks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.