Happy New Year

Happy New Year everybody!

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays everybody :3

The Nutcracker in 3D: The Worst Movie Ever Made? OR A Gutsy Undertaking?

The Nutcracker in 3D is bearly in theaters and its already being condemed by critics.

I admit that I had mixed feelings myself after initially viewing the trailer , its a dark retelling of the classic ballet. The 'Rats' look too similar to the Whos from the Grinch in my opinion. And the 'Nucracker prince' doesn't really look like a Nutcracker, more like a wooden marionette.

Besides this, is this twist on a Christmas classic a good movie? Depends on your taste. When people went to see this, they probably expected a sweet sugar-plum-fairy of a story and were disturbed by what they saw. Art is in the eye of the eye of the beholder. I personally like the style of filming and the feel of the atmosphere.

I also like that the writer didn't care whether anyone liked this film or not. I think it took a lot of guts to create a movie like this. It shows that there are some people are still willing to be daring and creative and not worry about the opinions of others. Kudos to you Konchalovskiy!

Did you see The Nutcracker in 3d? What was your take on it? Comment about it!

Disney Rip-Off

Okay, this either really funny, or really sad, I can't decide which.

Thai Version of 'Beauty and the Beast' Rips Off the Disney Classic

Brought to you by the animators of Thailand (who btw happen to make pretty good canned sardines ^_^), comes a pretty crappy scene-by-scene CGI remake of the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast. Just watch the trailer, it's identical to the original Disney film, they didn't even bother to vary the character designs (save for the candle-stick the teapot). They even had the audacity to make the opening logo identical to the Disney castle.

However, it is true that Disney doesn't technically own the rights to the original story of Beauty and the Beast since it's an adaptation of an very old fairy tale, but they do own the rights to the their version of the story.

But I can't say that Disney didn't have this coming to them. I'm sure not many of you know that Disney ripped off their idea for the Lion King from a Japanese show called "Kimba- The White Lion" (link). At least Disney had the dignity to change the art style and rename/recast some of the characters.

What do you think? Post your comments below.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

May your hearts be filled with joy and your stomachs with Turkey

Gotta good recommendation for a Thanksgiving movie? Comment about it!

Bowie and Space Fairies in a Microwave

I had just finished watching one of the most bizarre episodes of Supernatural that I have ever seen.

With the episode titled "Clap if You Believe" I assumed it'd be an episode about fairies. But the show opened with a parody of the opening to an older sci-fi show The X-Files. Okay, its an episode about aliens...fairies... alien fairies? ... anyway...

I don't want to give spoilers, but I'll give you the gist of it:

Sam and Dean investigate a town were several kids have disappeared. At the sight of crop circles, most of the town is swept up in the believe the kids were abducted by UFOs, save for one woman who believes its fairies.

Naturally skeptic, Dean investigates the crop circle alone, only to have a 'close encounter' and gets abducted by a bright light. His soulless brother Sam (I'm not beling mean, his soul was actually sucked out in a previous episode), not really caring about his missing brother, decides to have a romp with a local hippie-girl.

Dean eventually escape's his captors, looking pretty much like the end result of an alien-arse-probing, and catches his brother in the act.

And that's basically the first ten minutes! The episode continues this tangent of bizzare hilarity, including an epic fight between Dean and a little glowing fairy, all set to the tune of David Bowie's "Space Oddity", with the fairies fate being the microwave. I couldn't stop laughing!

Our heroes eventually learn that this is indeed not aliens they're dealing with, but fairies, and must uncover the truth as to who really set them on the town.

Overall, I'd say this was one of the best episodes of Supernatural I've ever seen. I loved all the refrences, double innuendoes, and Bowie's music.

Best line in the whole episode: "Fight the Fairies!"

What did you think of this episode of Supernatural? Let me know by commenting!

New and Improved!

Welcome to the new and improved Dreamscape Medley, a blog dedicated to reviews and articles related to modern and vintage, memorable and forgotten movies, cartoons, and anime.

Check back often for updates, or subscribe via reader or email, Follow on Google, or save/dend using any of the services listed below.

Remember, comments and critisim are always welcome!

New Blog Created!

Check out my new blog: The Electric Otaku >> for game reviews and articles.

Big Changes

I will be dividing this blog into 4 separate blogs in order to focus on the subjects individually.

For now on this blog will be dedicated to movie, series, anime, and animation reviews and articles related.

Thanks for your patience!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody!

The biggest treat of all? Fox and My9 are back!

Now, sugar-high time!

Dude, Where's My TV? NewsCorp vs Cablevision

Normally I love a good conflict; the pain, the passion, the drama; but not when I'm caught in the middle.

I'm sure some of you are aware of the war going on between Cablevision and NewsCorp, who owns channels Fox and My9. NewsCorp wants over 150 million dollars from Cablevision to provide its channels to them. When Cablevision refused and offered to pay them a more fair and reasonable amount of money, NewsCorp not only pulled the plug on the channels, they even blocked Cablevision customers from viewing their free online programming!

Now, neither companies are angels, but I'm afraid I'm going to side with Cablevision in this fight, mainly because of they are the lesser of the two evils.

Let’s look at NewsCorps situation:

• They own two major channels.
• The two said channels are available to watch for FREE over the air.
• The two said FREE channels provided because NewsCorp has a FREE license from the government.
• They already receive over 70 MILLION dollars from Cablevision, and are now asking for a morbidly-obese amount of money without adding any new channels or improved programming

It seems to me that NewsCorp is acting like a schoolyard bully demanding Cablevision's lunch money. I urge Cablevision to not give into NewsCorps outrageous demands. This whole situation isn't fair to the consumers, who are already paying for a free station to begin with, and are going to dish out more because of NewsCorp's greed.

And this is especially unfair to me because I'm going to miss Fringe!! Why can't Fringe be on a more sensible station, like NBC, they never pick fights with anybody (suddenly remembers the Jay Leno/ Conan O'Brian feud) Oops, bad example

Okay, the bottom line is: Cablevision, you got to stand up to Newscorp. You never back down from a bully, even if you walk away with a black eye, at least your pride (and your customers' wallets) will be in tact.

Say NO to NewsCorp and put Fox and My9 back on the air!

Movie Review: The Borrowers (1997)

Genre: Comedy Year: 1997 Rated: PG My Opinion: View Poster IMDB Page Wikipedia Page

When I first picked this movie up, I didn't have very high hopes for it. I thought it would be mildly cute with mostly dull and stupid humor. But I was pleasantly surprised.

The movie is based on a series of books by the same name. It's about a family of Borrowers, little humanoid creatures who live within the walls of human houses and occasionally 'borrow' items for their livelihood, and the human family who owns the house. The human boy discovers the existence of the Borrowers while he and his parents are forced to move from the house, unbeknownst that their lawyer is a greedy man who wants them out so he could search the house for the deceased grandmother's hidden millions.

The special effects used in the movie are fantastic, seamless, and scaled perfectly. The humor is also executed effectively, even the one 'dog poop' scene was hilarious (and not even gross).

One interesting aspect of this movie is that even though this movie has the atmosphere of a modern-yet-retro America, there are a number of British actors staring in this film (accents and all). Some of them include Hugh Laurie (whom we all know from House) and even a very young Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy ring a bell?).

Overall, this a great family movie that both kids and adults will enjoy. I'm surprised this movie didn't do better that it did. If not for a family, watch it as a study of special effects and how they don't have to be overwhelming and overdone to be effective.

What do you think? What are some of your favorite movies that have great special effects? Comment below!

Movie Review Archive >>

Judging American Idol

American Idol, one of the most iconic shows ever created. It was a star-maker and pop culture generator. It had everything: comedy, drama, suspense, and Simon. But once a fourth judge was added (I wonder whose bright idea that was ), American Idol has gone down a downward spiral of mediocrity, bad choices, and god-awful here-today-gone-tomorrow contestants (but that might be the show's fault, maybe America's just running out of talent ).

It seems the show has reached the end of the line, and with the Judges disappearing one by one, its only dying a slow, painful death.

My personal opinion, in order to save whatever dignity the show has left, they should start over fresh. Go back to the 3-panel style of judging and stick to a formula that works. Look at America's Got Talent. It’s stayed popular for so long because it sticks to a formula that works, and the changes that are made to the show (example: a replacement judge) are ones that work and don't disrupt the perfect formula.

As far as choosing one of the new judges, I nominate Steve Tyler. He'd be the perfect replacement for Paula Abdul, for a number of obvious reasons

What do you think of the new judges? Comment about it!

Movie Review: Eraserhead (1976)

Genre: Horror Year: 1976 Rated: Unrated My Opinion: View Poster Official Site IMDB Page Wikipedia Page

One of the greatest horror movies ever made (in my opinion at least). It doesn't try to scare you with cheap jumps and steamy shower scenes, instead it goes for the 'creep' factor. In other words, it will make you squirm.

The basic synopsis: Henry, a printer on vacation, is forced into marriage after his girlfriend gives birth to a deformed infant. Although the story seems simplistic, what makes this movie really worth watching is the visuals and the soundtrack.

Visuals: The dark dystopian atmosphere and setting really set the tone for the movie. Its never explained as to how or why the world is the way it is, or even if this world truly exists (in other words, is this Henry's interpretation of the world?). The portrayal of the characters are often unsettling and disturbing, as well as the manifestations of madness that plague Henry's life.

Soundtrack: There is no real 'music' in Eraserhead (save for one song), the score is generally 'industrial noise' which seems to fall into an eerie rhythm, giving you chills and goosebumps.

There are two versions of Eraserhead: the original cut and the re-release titled 'Eraserhead 2000'. The later version is 20 minutes longer. I personally have only seen the original.

Whichever version you choose, I highly recommend this if you are looking for a 'different' kind of horror movie. But be warned, this film will disturb sensitive viewers.

Have you seen Eraserhead? Which version do you think is better? Leave a comment below!

Movie Review Archive >>

 

Favorite Show to be Cancelled :(

I just found out that one of my favorite TV Shows, "At the Movies", is going to be cancelled , so not a happy camper today...

The show was basically two critics, who would show previews of new movies, and critisize them. And often much of the critisizim was justified and accurate, chopping away at any hype that might surround a new blockbuster or praise an underrated independent film.

And thats what I really enjoyed about the show, the critics would see right through some of these really shallow big-budget Hollywood films and praise movies that are actually good.

I'm sad to see it go. But I'm hopefull they'll consider airing "Roger Ebert & Richard Roeper presents At the Movies"

In other news: I've got my first follower! Whoo-hoo!

Movie Review: Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (1999)

Genre:	Anime
Year:	1999
My Rating:
IMDB Page Wikipedia Page

Now here's a movie for hard-core old-generation Sonic fans. Brought to you by the animators who did the intro and ending FMVs of Sonic CD, this movie acts sort of as a prequel to the game. It introduces Metal Sonic (called Mega Metal Sonic in the movie) and Knuckles (why is he wearing Nack's hat?)

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie synopsis: Robotnik kidnaps the president's daughter, Sara, threatening to hold her hostage until Sonic and Tail go to Robotropolis and shut down the battery in order to stop Metal Robotnik, who had taken over. Sonic reluctantly accepts and travels to the city, where they meet Knuckles head for the battery. But it all turns out to be a trick by Robotink, Sonic accidentally activates Mega Metal Sonic and a great battle ensues.

The movie is packed with classic Sonic-style fighting and witty humor. I'd recommend the subbed version over dubbed, but the dubbed dialog was okay. I'll give a slight content warning for this movie though, but not for the battle scenes. There are a couple of 'off-color' scenes that aren't appropriate for really little kids, but they'll most likely go over their heads.

Watching this made me long for the old days of video-gaming. In fact I'll go dust off the old Genesis and play a few rounds

Review Archive >>

Movie Review: Transformers (2007)

Genre:	SciFi
Year:	2007
My Rating:
Official Site IMDB Page Wikipedia Page

Last week I got to catch Transformers on tv. I always wanted to see this movie-version of my favorite tv '80s tv show, and since it did get over 7 stars on IMDB, I had high hopes. But unfortunatly I was mostly disappointed and fustrated with this movie. Here are some of the reasons:

1.) Dialog: It ranged from mildly clever to absolutly moronic, I actually cringed hearing some lines.

2.) Action: Aboslutely chaotic! The whole movie kept jumping back and forth between 3 different locations without warning or structure. And there are other movies that have used this type of fast-paced intercutting between locations and have utilitzed it well; this movie didn't.

3.) Robots: Optimus was the only one that was believable and in-character. I didn't even recognize the other robots.

4.) Megan Fox: She isn't the best actress in the world. But I felt her character was simply a distracting love interest who served very little interest in the movie other than being the love interest of the main character.

But I can't bash this movie entirly. The only thing I can praise about this movie is the CGI. The robots were amazingly designed and their movements and reactions were very realistic. Even when they were locked in battle you could still catch all the detail and mechianics of their design.

I would only recomend this movie to anyone who is interested in fantastic CGI graphics and don't mind some bad dialog.

Have you seen Transformers? Did you love it? Hate it? How do you think this movie could have been improved? Leave a comment.

Review Archive >>

Movie Review: Super Mario Bros (1993)

Genre:	Comedy
Year:	1993
My Rating:
IMDB Page Wikipedia Page

In light of the recent news of Dennis Hoppers death I've decided to review the only movie I own that he stars in: Super Mario Bros

"Super Mario Bros." is a cheesey yet fun fantasy/sci-fi movie based on the original NES game. It got low reviews on IMDB but that doesn't reflect Dennis Hopper's great acting as he portrays King Koopa in this fun, refrence-driven comedy. Mind you, some die-hard fans are headvily disappointed by this film because it doesn't completly follow the cannon storyline of the original games.

But I still think this movie is bashed unjustly. Yes, the movie is not like the game, but it is a dark yet fun reinterpretation/revisioning of the game. The special effects are great, reminencent of cheesy sci-fi movies

Bob Hoskins (as Mario) and John Leguizamo (as Luigi) have great chemistry on screen, even if they don't look like brothers. But Dennis Hopper's performance as the styreotypically evil and ruthless King Koopa is definatly what makes this worth the watch.

And while your at the video store renting this, you can also pick up Hopper's other great performances in Rebel Without A Cause and Easy Rider.

Have you seen Mario Bros? Tell me your opinion of it by leaving a comment below.

Review Archive >>

Welcome to Dreamscape Medley

Welcome to Dreamscape Medley, a blog that reviews and muses about mainstream, cult, and little-known movies, series, anime, and cartoons.

Until then, keep checking back for more, or subscribe if you wish for all the latest updates. Comments and reactions are encouraging, so leave feedback if you can (anonymous comments are accepted).