Okay, I don’t know how else to say it. This movie is hilarious. It’s absolutely and positively hilarious. I had never seen a full episode of Futurama before this Direct-to-DVD film, but now I am totally sold on these characters and the universe they inhabit. It’s ripe for comedy with great gags, action, and ideas; and I really have to just put it out there: I was totally impressed. In fact, as far as animated Direct-to-DVD features go, it’s as good as I’ve seen.

Frankly, Bender’s Big Score is just fun, loads of fun. The film follows Futurama regulars Frye, Bender, Leela, and the rest after their complete and total bankruptcy at the hands of internet spammers whose schemes essentially strip the entire universe of its wealth. The story involves not only this story of theft and internet tomfoolery but also an amazing time-travel scenario with multiples of characters and storylines.

This is a really great 90 minutes of sci-fi, cartoon comedy, and I really dug it. It pulled me into this universe and entertained me much more than I expected; and that being said, I am going to give the Futurama movie, Bender’s Big Score a very, very solid 6.

Fastwalkers aka “the UFO documentary you must watch” is what appears to be a made for TV project regarding the existence of extra-terrestrials, their engaging the planet earth and mankind, and various world governments’ covering them up. Let’s get the obvious out of the way first, the film is not well-made. It is definitely on the level of “made for TV” product–which it seems to be aiming for, so that’s alright, I just wanna put up that disclaimer in case anyone wants to look out for it and thinks its crap. Also, the persons who appear in the documentary seem incredibly sincere. They speak of the phenomena with the clarity and sincerity that I’d describe my prom or wedding day. They really, truly believe the events happened just as they recall them (or they are all fantastic actors–not likely).

I think what’s most intriguing about this whole video is that some of the ideas and stories about ETs are so ridiculous that they are either (a) completely true or (b) delusions that people believe to be completely true. Their sincerity is THAT convincing. Unfortunately, the stories themselves are not. Some of the stories, one of which is that a man went to a clandestine meeting with an alien who was wearing in slacks, dress shirt, and tie, are entirely too silly to take seriously. But as I said before, the speakers seem to believe them with full, unabashed clarity. And it is their honesty that kept me watching, reluctantly.

One thing that’s very intriguing about this is that these folks claim the same scientific method, same research practices, and the same skepticism that their strongest opponents use to debunk them. It’s very odd, and I wonder if the scientific community would accept this information if it was all true and we really found out that, yes, there are extra-terrestrials. Could the skeptics accept it? Something so odd and surreal? Or would they fight it tooth and nail. Frankly, I think that would be a documentary story worth telling–at least one that is more interesting than this one. In fact, I’m copyrighting it right now. Let’s make a documentary that asks major players in the scientific community what it would take to make them believe. Then let’s show them the “evidence”, and see what they say. That’d be an excellent story.

Again, like all documentaries, one will have to filter while watching Fastwalkers. Here’s my take: The people in this documentary have experienced things they did not initially understand. Through coming together with others, they have been given a possible, though improbable, idea of what has occurred. They then form their assessment and validate it against other claims of the same kind and type. Now feeling the event confirmed, they form further thoughts and ideas surrounding that experience and, as a result, come to the grandiose conclusions that they do. It sounds like a viable way in which this type of large-scale theory would develop; and frankly, that’s fine for them if that’s what they think. Unfortunately, despite the “overwhelming evidence”, I was not convinced.

Frankly, I’m not even sure if “Fastwalkers” is the correct title. I stumbled across it on Youtube and gave it a watch, but I didn’t really get swayed, which is sad since the makers seem to really want me to. Fastwalkers is a fine documentary, but I didn’t really buy it. It’s fine, so I’ll give it a 3. It didn’t piss me off or even put me off, but it wasn’t really all that convincing or fascinating either, and I usually feel a documentary has to hit me in some way to be good.

Yes, I understand that this is a “Made-for-TV” miniseries, but I didn’t feel that “Made-for-TV-miniseries-Meview” was gonna be a regularly cited category on the stage, so I’m just jumping ahead when this thing hits DVD (eventually).

Sci-Fi’s original mini-series Tin Man is an adaptation of Frank Baum’s book, The Wizard of Oz. I’ve never read the book; and after seeing both the 1939 musical and this series, I never intend to. That being said, I’m gonna be looking at this series straight up and not talk about where it got the book right or wrong–cause frankly, I don’t care anyway.

Tin Man follows the story of D.G., a girl who has never felt at home where she currently resides with her parents in the midwestern United States. The reason for this, she is not home, her home is “The Outer Zone”, also known as “the OZ”. When a tornado sucks her into the Oz, however, and she begins to learn the truth of her identity and her relationship to her true home. In fact, she turns out to be much, much more than she ever imagined. She is accompanied in her adventures by Wyatt Caine, a former-sheriff (”Tin Man”) of the OZ; Glitch, a scientist whose brain has been extracted; and Raw, an empathic Lion/human hybrid. They have to battle an evil tyrant whose name I don’t remember before said tyrant traps the OZ in eternal darkness. Ewoks, I mean munchkins, make an appearance, as does Toto, the shape shifting dog/man, and the mystical man who helped D.G. escape to our dimension from the Oz.

Yeah, I have very little to say about his series other it was 5+ hours I’ll never get back, which is my own fault, I could have gotten up and left at any time. But I didn’t. I wanted to see what happened, so it was at least moderately interesting, even if I can think of very little I think it did well in retrospect. I will say this, the design is lifted right from the portfolio of Julie Taymor (Titus) and creates a sort of partially industrialized, fantasy world that looks trapped in the year 1902 but still has technology far different, not necessarily “superior” but different, than our own. This look was still somewhat interesting to me, having seen and admired some of Taymor’s work. Other than that, however, the shot selection is pretty poor, the acting, less Neal McDonaugh and Alan Cumming, is on par with a high school production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (I can’t believe I just referenced that play). Also, the music is lackluster. So, I guess I really don’t have much to say about this series except, “meh”.

I’ll be nice and give Tin Man a 3. Though I didn’t really like it, I’m glad I saw it, I guess.

Okay, this is a DVD documentary that is a perfect example of the problem with “revisionist history” and, frankly, history in general. If you watch, Monday Night Wars the DVD, you get very little idea of what professional wrestling was really like in the mid-to-late 90s, the era when the “Monday Night Wars” occurred. The “wars” referred to were the constant battles over ratings between the World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling during what is arguably the great era of sports entertainment (not “sports” but “sports entertainment”) history.

The reason I bring up the fact that you’re not gonna learn much about the period of time this DVD explores is because of the revisionist history I mentioned earlier. If you watch this DVD, you’d think that WCW was a tyrannical company that basically treated its performers like dirt. You’d think that WCW was a wholly villainous entity undeserving of its profits and fanbase, while the WWE was the performers’ salvation. You’d think that the WCW was evil, andthe WWE was good. But that’s only half the truth. The other half is that, at this time, WWE was apparently putting a detrimental amount of pressure on its performers and also actively embracing and pushing the lowest common denominator, which, even if you’re not a fan of wrestling, you know is very low. Watching the DVD, however, you’d never know this.

And therein lies the problem. Because the WWE won the supposed, “Monday Night Wars”, and it is their company that is producing the flic, they are allowed to paint the story with themselves as the heroes and WCW as the villains. That’s what they get to do. All victors throughout history get to do it, and they do it here. BUT as a result, you really aren’t getting the story of the “Monday Night Wars”, you are getting the story of “WWE’s VICTORY in the Monday Night Wars”. Sure, Vince McMahon tries to be diplomatic, and Shaun Michaels says that the WCW did accomplish alot; BUT the overall tone and feeling of the movie, particularly in the treatment of former WCW head Eric Bischoff, is that WCW was bad and WWE was good.

As a fan of Wrestling during this time, I couldn’t disagree with this take on history more. People were RUNNING–RUNNING–from the WWE to the WCW. Sure, it was because they were offered more money, BUT they obviously weren’t happy enough at the WWE to stay there and be loyal. Also, during this time, a little documentary called, Beyond the Mat came out showcasing the many sins of the WWE. So, I don’t but this DVD’s argument or take on the events it claims to document.

And yet, I am giving Monday Night Wars a 7. Why? Why in the world would I do this? Well, cause this is a meview, so I can do what I want. Second, this was a period in wrestling that I followed and enjoyed; and by infusing my personal knowledge of the era with the information within this documentary, I have a very good time watching it. I enjoy it because of the points where I know it is full of Crap, and I enjoy for the few insights it offers. And I enjoy it cause it does transport back to that crazy time when “the Monday Night Wars” were on like donkey Kong–and you know what, that was a good time to be a wrestling fan.

Anyone expecting more from High School Musical than a second rate Saved by the Bell musical, will probably hate it. Those expecting less will probably enjoy it–or at least tolerate it.

The movie is incredibly cheesy, obviously shot-for-TV, full of cliches, unrelentingly silly, overacted BUT ultimately, a lot of fun. It’s that kind of movie. A movie that knows what it is, who it’s for, and makes no qualms about it. In fact, it embraces it. High School Musical loves being nothing grander or deeper than High School Musical.

Certain projects carry a “called-in” feeling to them, as though everyone involved was just going to work to make a product for some money. Made-for-TV and Direct-to-DVD movies are usually most guilty of this; but HSM carries an air of fun and pleasure by its makers and stars–as though they appreciated the opportunity to ham it up, enjoy themselves and not take their work too seriously. They seem to be digging the movie for all the reasons most people would loathe it, and I can appreciate that.

All that being said, I am giving the laughably overracted, silly, cliche-ridden High School Musical a very solid 4. It’s a fun flic that knows its place and embraces it with a certain energy and attitude that gives it life despite its huge, glaring sillyness.

PS- I realize I didn’t get into plot during the Meview and, really, what would have been the point? It’s a high school movie, so it’s all about one’s identity in the school’s culture. Done.

The Pilot to the hit 1980s series is just that. A TV Pilot. From the 80s. As such, a certain lens must applied when watching it. The lens, of course, is necessary to filter through the fashions and enrivonment as an acccurate depiction of a time in history– a time of which this piece of entertainment is exemplery. And you know what, it’s a solid program.

The job of a pilot is to get viewers interested in the world and characters of the show, and that is exactly what the pilot for Miami Vice accomplishes.The overall plot and development really play out like a made-for-TV movie, and it leaves one hungering for adventures in the underbelly of the seeming Florida paradise. It not only establishes the two main cops, Ricardo Tubbs and Sonny Crockett, but also the world of Miami, the grime beneath the shiny exteriors and gorgeous women, the fragility of security, and the overall appeal of such an environment. In the pilot, Jimmy Smits and Mikelti Willaimson also make notable appearances; and it makes for danged good TV.

I am giving the Miami Vice Pilot a solid 5, and I hope to start getting into the series.

Stan Lee’s Mutants, Monsters & Marvels is no work of cinematic genius. In fact, it’s not even much of a movie. It’s two guys sitting in front of comic display talking about comic history, storytelling, and so forth. That’s it. All that said, it’s pretty danged entertaining.

I’m no comic buff. In fact, I would not even say I am a comic fan. I am a nerd, and under the overarching banner of nerdom I like a few graphic novels and the concepts behind comic characters. But I’ll be honest, I haven’t read that many comics, if you broke down all the graphic novels I’ve read and added that to the single issues I’ve read, It’d probably clock in at about 300 issues total in all of comic lore. That’s nothing.

But I am a huge fan of the comic universes, based on the toys I have collected and follow. I love the idea of the comic book and the concept of superheroes. I love alot of comic book movies and grew up playing with superheroes. That being said, I really dig the ideas of Stan Lee and, his interviewer, Kevin Smith.

Now, given my respect for these characters, concepts, ideas, and speakers in question, I totally enjoyed this DVD. Yes, it’s a pretty badly produced piece of work; but it doens’t need to be a high gloss deal. All they had to do was get the sound right, and they did. So, really, it’s fine–intercutting comic covers and pictures with the Q&A between Smith and Lee is nice. But the real heart of this DVD is the content of the conversation, and it is good–a great listen for fans of comics.

This is a really niche DVD, and there’s no amazing special features, so I don’t know what the objective review of it would be. I, however, write Meviews, so I am giving it a 5; and I look forward to watching it again at some point.

I don’t know why exactly, but I enjoy blaxploitation cinema. The attitude, the jive talking, the music, the costumes, the tone, the no-holds-barred violence. These movies, for all their lack of qulaity, just entertain me. I watch them as urban crime movies, not examples of African American culture; but they are fun crime stories, particularly Coffy and Foxy Brown.

Baadassss Cinema takess a look at this whole era of filmmaking from its beginnings with surpise successes, through the market saturation, to the decline and attempted resurgence. Interestingly, the documentary only focuses heavily on the reactions of the African American community, not America as a whole. The film isn’t interested in how these movies effected the suburbs or the country as a whole. It is interested in how the community for whom these films were made reacted, both good and bad. What’s fascinating is the various attitudes that arose. To the actors, the era was an amazing opporutnity to be in films and make a steady living in ways Hollywood had never previously allowed. To some civic leaders, the films were great opportunities for dialogue and inspriation. For others, they were blatant and dangerous stereotypical “trash” films. The filmmakers, who obviously love the genre, paint men like the Reverend Jesse Jackson as villainous censors. The imbalance is frustrating; however, the documentary still manages to be interesting, ebcuase it explains WHY people SHOULD appreciate this dead genre.

I’ll be honest, the only reason I enjoy this documentary is because I enjoy these type of movies. To anyone reading this who doesn’t enjoy them, this is not worth a look. It’s not that well made and is really more of an hour long trailer for about 100 movies than a movie itself; and if you don’t like these mvoies, then that trailer is a 100 minutes too long. As I’ve said, it’s completely and totally slanted, looking at the era of filmmaking through a lens of reminiscient adoration. And it’s paced horribly given the subject matter. Even at an hour, it feels way too long.

I am going to give Baadasss Cinema a 4. I love it because of the subject matter, but it’s not that well-made. It drags even at an hour, but I still enjoy popping it in and hearing opinions from others about the genre. I don’t foresee the average person who is uninterested in blaxploitation or film history getting anything out of it; but as a fringe-fan of the genre, I found it somwehat engaging and informative.