Elvis 75th Birthday Collection, seven of his best or worst movies

Collection of Elvis Presley movie classics includes some of his best and worst, except not everyone agrees which is which *** 3 Stars

By Gabrielle Pantera

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 7/3/2010 – Elvis Presley movies were made fast and cheap. The more he sang, the better the movie. Fox has released seven Elvis movies as a set to honor his birthday.

Clambake (1967) is a The Prince and the Pauper story with millionaire oil tycoon Elvis getting his wish to get away from stress to live the ordinary life by switching identities with a happy-go-lucky water ski instructor. Of course there’s a girl, the delightful Shelley Fabares, who 22 years later would star in almost 200 episodes of ABC Coach. In Clambake, Elvis finds himself in competition with a smarmy Bill Bixby, both for Fabares and to win the big boat race. This movie is the most fun of all the movies in this set. At times it’s a bit campy, but the songs are memorable and at the end you’re in a upbeat mood.

Follow That Dream (1962) is a Forrest Gump story with Elvis the most simple-minded of a family of well-meaning country hicks. After their old car breaks down on the Florida turnpike the family is forced to become squatters. A loophole in the law means they can own that particular piece of landfill if they can remain on it long enough, an outcome a state official is determined to prevent. A curvy social worker takes a personal interest in “helping” Elvis. Directed by Gordon Douglas; Written by Charles Lederer and based on the novel by Richard Powell. Despite the yokel story, this movie is better then you first think. Maybe it’s not the best script, but it’s engaging and funny.

Flaming Star (1960) is a Dances with Wolves story with Elvis the mixed-breed son who wants to stop the settlers and Indians from fighting. Elvis’ Kiowa mother is played by Dolores del Rio and her Texan husband is played by John McIntire. When conflict breaks out between the Indians and the settlers, Elvis opposes his half brother played by Steve Forrest. Directed by Don Siegel. Written by Clair Huffaker and Nunnally Johnson. There are two songs by Elvis at the beginning of the movie. The film is well directed and not too preachy.

Frankie and Johnny (1966) has Elvis as a riverboat singer obsessed with misfortune. When a gypsy says he needs a redhead as a good luck charm, that’s not good news to girlfriend and singing partner Donna Douglas. Yes, it’s the girl from The Beverly Hillbillies. There are eleven original songs and it’s Elvis’ motion picture dancing debut. Directed by Frederick De Cordova;.Written by Alex Gottlieb.

Kid Galahad (1962) Elvis is a former G.I. who’s returned home to work as an auto mechanic. Gig Young, who runs a boxing camp, notices Elvis has a natural talent as a boxer. Elvis gets as his trainer Charles Bronson. Directed by Phil Karlson.

Love Me Tender (1956) is a Cold Mountain type of story, but don’t expect Oscar performances. Elvis stays home while his brother goes to fight the Civil War…on losing side. After hearing of his brother’s death, Elvis marries his brother’s sweetheart played by Debra Paget. With reports of his death having been greatly exaggerated, the brother, played by Richard Egan, returns home to find his girl is married to Elvis. That creates conflict. Directed by Robert D. Webb. Written by Robert Buckner;

Wild in the Country (1961) is a Peyton Place story of a town wrongfully accusing Elvis and his therapist Hope Lange of having an affair. Elvis is a country boy, seething with hostility, but a gifted writer. Elvis has chemistry with sweetheart Millie Perkins and bad girl Tuesday Weld, but the scenes with Hope Lange drag on with heavy dialog. Directed by Philip Dunne. Written by Clifford Odets and based on the novel by J.R. Salamanca. Elvis takes himself seriously here as an actor. Not much fun.

This collection has one disc for each movie packaged in two cases. There are no DVD bonus features, unfortunately. It would have been fun to hear more about how these movies were made.

Elvis 75th Birthday Collection

• Format: Box set, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 7
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: June 1, 2010
• Cost: $33 at Amazon.com

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is great entertainment, a little scary for the little ones **** 4 Stars [Get $10 off special offer good until June 15th]

By Gabrielle Pantera

A grown-up Alice returns to the rabbit hole for further adventures

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 6/6/2010 - “I can remember reading the books when I was a kid but it was a super condensed version,” say Alice in Wonderland star Johnny Depp. “Then, obviously, the Disney animated version took over. But because the stories are so episodic, abstract and all over the place, what I remember more than anything is just the characters and how those characters stick with you for some reason. Even people who haven’t read the book know all the characters.”

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland features a grown-up Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska, who returns to Wonderland for some unfinished business and to find out who she really is. Alice doesn’t remember being there before, but it all seems very familiar. As the story progresses she gets her “muchness” back she’d lost when she grew up. In the end she’s a stronger person for it.

“In terms of the look of the character, some of the early stuff that Tim and I spoke about actually came right out of the book,” says Depp. “There were these weird little cryptic bits that Lewis Carroll dropped in there. Things like I’m investigating things that begin with the letter ‘M’. That, on its own, was intriguing. You go through Alice and you go through The Looking Glass and there’s never an answer for it.”

“So, what I did was to start doing research on hatters,” says Depp. “I found this thing called The Hatter’s Disease, basically… because they use this very toxic substance to glue the hats together, which involved a lot of mercury and ended up poisoning them heavily. The poison would manifest itself in different ways. Some would develop Tourettes style syndrome, some would develop a personality disorder… some would get darker. So, I just thought, yeah. There was also an orange tint to the actual stuff, which is where all the orange bits come from.”

“In terms of my approach to the character, I was just trying to find those places inside, to go from extreme sides of personality,” says Depp. “So, one minute you’re at full capacity rage, the next minute you’ve dropped to some kind of horrific tailspin of fear, and then you go to some great height of levity. So, that was what I tried to do within the scenes and whenever I could find the right moments for it.”

“The combination of the 135-year-old best seller Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Disney and 3D make this an irresistible and ‘must see’ movie event,” says producer Richard Zanuck.

Alice In Wonderland” marks the seventh collaboration between Tim Burton and Johnny Depp since they first worked together on Edward Scissorhands. “It’s amazing,” says Depp, “having worked with Tim coming up on 20 years, I’ve had the opportunity to see him grow. He’s so unique and so special and such a brilliant filmmaker. Anything Tim wants me to do is a real honor.”

The White Queen, played by Anne Hathaway, appears to be all sweetness and light, beneath the surface there’s a hint of darkness to her character. “She comes from the same gene pool as the Red Queen,” says Hathaway. “She really likes the dark side, but she’s so scared of going too far into it that she’s made everything appear very light and happy. But she’s living in that place out of fear that she won’t be able to control herself.”

To play the Red Queen, Underland’s petulant ruler, Burton turned to real-life partner Helena Bonham Carter, the Oscar-nominated British actress. “She doesn’t really rule through any kind of justice or fairness, but through terror,” says Bonham Carter. “I chop off people’s heads. That’s my solution to everything.”

“Helena is a fearless actress,” says producer Joe Roth. “She is unafraid of being this incredibly demonic character. She is quite an ogre. What’s funny about it is, she does it in a kind of baby-doll way.”

While Bonham Carter’s head is digitally increased to around twice its normal size for the final film, the actress still had to endure a daily visit to the makeup chair to be  transformed into the Red Queen. “It took about three hours,” she says. “But I love being Royal. The big hazard was I lost my voice pretty much every day by 10 o’clock, because she shouts a lot. ‘Off with his head! Off with her head!’ It’s quite exhausting losing your temper all the time.”

Director Tim Burton began his career at Walt Disney as a concept and in-between artist in 1979, working on the animated features “The Fox and the Hound” and “The Black Cauldron.” This year aside from directing “Alice in Wonderland” and producing the animated feature “9”, he released “The Art of Tim Burton,” a 430-page book comprising more than 40 years of his personal and project artwork. In November, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) opened an extensive exhibit of his work. The exhibit will tour Melbourne, Australia and Toronto, Canada, later this year.

Tim Burton’s epic fantasy adventure Alice In Wonderland is Disney’s fourth biggest film of all time. The Blu-ray disc include nine bonus features that take viewers deeper into the famous Rabbit Hole, exploring more of the world of Wonderland, its iconic characters and the making of the film. The making of the Futterwacken Dance takes a look inside the world of the Mad Hatter and Johnny Depp’s transformation.

From the trailers you may think Alice will be very dark, but it’s a delight and visually pleasing. The story and plot move along at a good clip and you stay engaged through out the entire move. There are few dark moments, but they are action scenes that move quickly. Defiantly one to get for your Blu-ray collection.

Alice in Wonderland

• Disney 3-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack
• Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy
• Release date: June 1, 2010
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• Cost: Blu-ray set $44.99, 1-Disc Blu-ray $39.99, 1-Disc DVD $29.99

]]> http://www.goshtv.net/2010/06/07/alice-in-wonderland-on-blu-ray/feed 0 http://www.goshtv.net/2010/04/10/dvd-gary-unmarried-divorce-can-be-funny http://www.goshtv.net/2010/04/10/dvd-gary-unmarried-divorce-can-be-funny#comments Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:15:41 +0000 rower http://www.goshtv.net/?p=1116

Comedian Jay Mohr and Californication’s Paula Marshall explore life after divorce in the hit CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried released on DVD *** Three stars

By Gabrielle Pantera

Gary Unmarried, starring Jay Mohr and Paula Marshall

Hollywood CA (Gosh!TV) 4/10/2010 – “Can you say B-I-T-C-H?,” says Gary Unmarried star Paula Marshall. “I was afraid of being too much of that. When I read the script, they didn’t want me, I think. I emailed Bonnie Zane, the casting agent, and said, I have to play this part. I love her. We could make her so human and not so stereotypical ex-wife.” Marshall got the script from real-life husband Danny Nucci. Her husband was up for the role of Gary. Nucci didn’t get the part of Gary, but Marshall got the role of Allison.

Gary Unmarried: The Complete First Season. As a newly single dad Gary (Jay Mohrtries) tries to navigate his increasingly complex life. A painting contractor, Gary and ex-wife Allison (Paula Marshall) must try to raise 14-year-old son Tom (Ryan Malgarini) and 11-year-old daughter Louise (Kathryn Newton). Kids, romance and his ex-wife’s controlling ways keep Gary guessing.

Gary Unmarried: The Complete First Season stars Paula Marshall  (Californication), Ryan Malgarini  (Freaky Friday), Kathryn Newton (All My Children), Al Madrigal (The Ortegas), Jaime King (Sin City), Ed Begley, Jr. (Arrested Development), and guest stars Jane Curtain (3rd Rock From the Sun).

The show’s conflict and humor stem from the differences between Gary’s and Allison’s personalities and parenting styles. Gary is often bordering on irresponsible, while Allison is driven and wants everything to be in control. She faults Gary’s lack of responsibility as a reason why she must be the way she is. Kids under 13 may not get some of the jokes, but it’s not geared towards that audience.

Bonus DVD Features

• Gary Unhinged: Bloopers From Season One,
• The Chemistry Of Comedy – The cast and crew gives an all-access tour of Gary Unmarried.
• Planet Begley – Cast member Ed Begley, Jr. brings his eco-friendly expertise to the set of Gary Unmarried.
• Tuesday On The Set With Jay – Spend a day on the set of Gary Unmarried with Jay Mohr.
• Plus never-before-seen bonus features including a behind-the-scenes visit with the show’s executive producer, James Burrows (“Taxi,” “Cheers,” “Friends”).

DVD: Gary Unmarried: The Complete First Season

• Price $39.99 (U.S.), $44.99 (Canada)
• Release Date: February 9, 2010
• Feature run time: Approximately 430 minutes, 20 episodes on 3 discs
• Rating: TV-14 DLS (US); PG – Not Recommended For Young Children, Mature Theme (CAN)
• Bonus materials not rated
• Aspect ratio: Widescreen (1.78.1)
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1Surround
• Languages: French and Spanish subtitles

Toy Story and Toy Story 2, classic Pixar animation features come to Blu-ray **** 4 star

By Gabrielle Pantera

Toy Story, the film changed animation, now on Blu-ray

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 4/3/2010 – “For me, it’s the story that holds the audience, not the technology and not the look of the film,” says Toy Story producer Lasseter. “In making a sequel to Toy Story, we were able to concentrate on the story since the main characters and the world already existed, We didn’t want to retell the same story with the same people like so many sequels do. We wanted to build upon the foundation and create a new adventure that would be equal to the first.”

As a consequence of a costly his divorce with his wife/editor on Star Wars, George Lucas sold ILM’s computer animation studio to Steve Jobs. He’d been kicked out of his own company Apple (he later returned)  and was looking for something interesting to do. For Thanksgiving 1995, Pixar released its first feature animation film, Toy Story. It became an instant classic and the biggest film of the year with a gross of $360 million dollars. Jobs had made a very wise investment. However, it took foresight to believe computer animation would be big.

In Toy Story, the toys that live in Andy’s room are worried what change to their group Andy’s birthday party may bring. Their fears are realized when a new toy, Buzz Lightyear, joins them. Buzz doesn’t know he’s a toy. His mission is to save everyone from the evil emperor Zurg. Cowboy toy Woody is jealous as he realizes that his status as favorite is threatened. When Woody and Buzz fall out the window, they must work together to try to get home.

In Toy Story 2, Woody and Buzz have become friends and all seems well with the toys in Andy’s room. That is, until, Woody is stolen by greedy toy collector Al of Al’s Toy World. Buzz and other toys go to the rescue, But does Woody want to be rescued? Will he go home or go with Al’s other toys.

“With Toy Story 2 we concentrated on making a good story,” says producer John Lasseter. “Yes, the technology has advanced phenomenally since we finished the first film. The advancements that we made on A Bug’s Life were huge. But moviegoers are going to want to see the world that these toys inhabit from the first film. The film has a lot of depth and a lot of texture, which I think is going to please and surprise Toy Story fans. ”

Toy Story set the standard for computer animation. Today, of course, computer animation is the norm. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are beautiful films to delight the entire family.

Toy Story & Toy Story 2

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Blu-ray release: March 23rd, 2010

$39.99

By Gabrielle Pantera

Miley with talking horse Blue Jeans

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 3/27/2010 – “I met Liam and he opened the door,” says 17-year-old Miley Cyrus. “I’ve been in L.A. three years and haven’t seen that. I turned to the director and said, ‘He’s got the job; he’s hot and he opened the door’. We’ve been together ten months now and I’m really happy.”

Miley Cyrus became a huge hit on the Disney series Hannah Montana. About to complete shooting season 4, she says it’s bittersweet to leave the show. “This is our last season,” says Cyrus. “We’ve got seven more episodes. We’ve done it in a way that it will go on for at least another year. All over the world Hannah Montana will still be on the air.”

Cyrus has grown up in the limelight of being a hit singer and Disney star, a clash of cultures that collides as children grow up from being asexual Disney role models into sexually provocative stars with boyfriends. “When I had my first record I was twelve years old,” says Cyrus. “Nobody at that point really knows who they are.”

Hanna Montana Season Three Finale presents six episodes from the Emmy-nominated series. The finale explores whether Miley will leave her rock-star lifestyle in Malibu to return home to her Tennessee roots and be with her favorite horse, Blue Jeans. That Blue Jeans can channel Mr. Ed and talk to Miley, makes this a tougher choice than it may seem.

For the season 3 finale, American Idol David Archuleta guest stars, and Cody Linley returns as Jake in an hour-long episode that has Miley thinking he could be the one. When broadcast on the Disney Channel, it ranked as the biggest U.S. cable TV program for the week, with seven million viewers.

Miley Cyrus has endured criticism for her personal life, for dating a 20-year-old male model when she was 15, and for her support of gay marriage. “I was asked the question, Miley, what do you think?,” says Cyrus. “I said, I believe there’s no other judge but God. I’m not one to tell someone else they can’t be in love with someone else when I’m happily in love with someone. I got people hating me for believing in love.”

After receiving threatening hate mail and hearing persistent rumors she was pregnant, Miley Cyrus deleted her Twitter account…to the shock of fans. Is life imitating art? In Hannah Montana, Miley questions whether the rock star lifestyle is too public for her. The fourth season of the schoolgirl with a secret life as a pop star story premieres in July 2010 and will be called Hannah Montana Forever. Guest stars will include Sheryl Crow and Ray Liotta. Disney will produce a total of 100 Hannah Montana episodes, completing broadcasting in 2011.

Hannah Montana is about the double life of Miley Stewart, a normal teenage girl most of the time, but she’s also Hannah Montana a singer who dons a blonde wig so she’s not recognized when not on stage. The comedic gags are over the top at times, but kudos to the cast for going for it and not caring if they look silly sometimes. The six episodes of season 3 show how much Miley, her friends and her brother have grown up in the last three years. Hannah Montana season 3 is great for fans of the show or if you have younger kids to keep entertained.

Bonus Episode of “He Could Be The One” is 1-hour episode with alternate ending. In  Sister Secrets, Miley’s real-life sister Brandi leads a backstage tour of the Hannah Montana show armed with her “Brandi-Cam”.

Hannah Montana: Miley Says Goodbye?

• Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• DVD release date: March 9th, 2010
• Run time: 134 minutes
• DVD aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Language: English, French and Spanish,
• Price: $19.99 U.S.
• Rated: TV-G

By Gabrielle Pantera

Ponyo, hit Japanese animated feature in English from Disney

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 3/27/2010 – “I’ve been a big advocate at the Disney company of getting the Miyazaki films out there for the DVD releases as well as the theatrical releases,” says Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter. “I believe that once you watch a Miyazaki film you get hooked. You want to see it again. I tried very hard not to change Miyazaki’s vision. His movies are so deep and so unique.”

“I get inspiration from my everyday life,” says Ponyo director Hayao Miyazaki. “I don’t make films to be message films.” Lasseter says that sometimes we may not quite understand, Miyazaki’s films, but that’s how he intended it. Lasseter, who directed the actors for the English soundtrack for Ponyo, says that the actors were cast to feel natural to American ears without changing the intent of the original Japanese-language film.

The film’s voice cast includes Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cloris Leachman, Betty White, Lily Tomlin and introduces Noah Lindsey Cyrus as Ponyo and Frankie Jonas as Sosuke.

Ponyo is the animated story of Sosuke, a five year old boy who finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle. He releases the tiny creature and names his new friend Ponyo. She confides in Sosuke that she one of the daughters of the wizard and alchemist Fujimoto (Liam Neeson) and sea goddess Gran Mamare (Cate Blanchett). Ponyo magically transforms herself into a human girl. What will that do the natural balance of things?

Disney presents a Studio Ghibli hand drawn film. Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki creates a bold, imaginative vision of a magical world from a child’s point of view. This is the first film from Miyazaki available on Blu-ray. Miyazaki is the creator of the Oscar-winning Spirited Away and of Howl’s Moving Castle.

Ponyo will appeal to small children. Older children may find the story to fantastical to believe. Ponyo was inspired by the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale The Little Mermaid. It incorporates a very contemporary concern for nature. The classic 2D animation is beautiful, but may seem dated to audiences expecting 3D animation. Ponyo was the number one film in Japan in 2008 and the 8th highest grossing film in Japanese history.

Ponyo bonus features include The World of Ghibli, a multi-layered interactive experience in the lands of Ponyo, Kiki, Castle or Totoro. Also included in this feature are: Creating Ponyo, Ponyo & Fujimoto, The Nursery, Behind the Microphone: The Voice of Ponyo,  Producers Perspective: Telling the Story, Scoring Miyazaki, The Scenery in Ghibli, and  Original Japanese Trailer

Ponyo

• Blu-ray $39.99, 2-Disc DVD $29.99
• Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
• DVD Release Date: 3/2/10
• Written By: Hayao Miyazaki
• Studio: Walt Disney Pictures Presents A Studio Ghibli Film
• MPAA: G

By Gabrielle Pantera

The Princess and the Frog

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 3/23/2010 - The Princess and The Frog is a twist on the Brothers Grimm story. Instead of the frog turning into a prince after a kiss, the girl turns into a frog. Then the fun begins. How will they become human again before the end of Mardi Gras.

Screenwriter Rob Edwards finds the writing process is an extremely collaborative one. “Most of my writing is done while walking through the halls and talking to the storyboard artists, the animators and some of the voice talent and the directors,” says The Princess and the Frog screenwriter Rob Edwards. “The easy part is going back to my office and just writing it.”

The Princess and the Frog is set in the New Orleans French Quarter during the 1920s Jazz Age. Prince Naveen from Maldoina has arrived in New Orleans and is crazy about jazz music. Tiana is an independent, hardworking pretty young woman who has no time for romance. She loves cooking. H\her goal is to own a restaurant. The spoiled prince is taken in by the evil Dr. Facilier, who uses black magic to transform Naveen into a frog. Naveen needs a princess to kiss him to break the spell.

“What makes a classic?” asks Edwards. “Compelling characters, strong points of view, humor that’s both sophisticated for parents and fun for kids, great music. I want to tell an honest story about two wonderful people who meet and fall in love. I want to tell it to my friends and my friends’ sons and daughters. You should laugh. You should cry. You should be touched…then everything else falls into place.”

Tony Award-winning Broadway star Anika Noni Rose is the voice of Tiana. “It’s been a dream of mine my entire life to do a Disney voice,” says Anika Noni Rose. “So the Princess is an elevation of my dream, even.  You think when you’re dreaming that you’re dreaming big.  And then somebody comes along and they’re, like, oh, who’s your fairy godmother? Now, you’re the princess!”

“I started very late,” says Rose. “I thought I wanted to be a recording artist. And then it switched, and I stuck with acting. I still wanted to be a recording artist. I thought, ‘One way to break in would be to do soundtracks.’ Randy has such a gift with his music and the ability to tell stories.”

“When I see all these children from all different backgrounds walking around in Tiana outfits, I’m so excited about her,” says Rose. “It proves that the only people who are caught up in what she looks like are the adults.  The kids are caught up in who she is and that’s beautiful.”

Oscar winner and song writer Randy Newman wrote and recorded the first song, Down In New Orleans, two-and-a-half years ago. The songs were written before the animation.

So does The Princess and the Frog succeed? The hand drawn 2D animation is lovely, in the classic Disney style. The twist on the Brothers Grimm Princess and the Frog is clever, that Tiana turns into a frog rather than breaking the spell creates a new adventure. However, the evil villain too evil, much too dark for young kids. The Princess and the Frog is for 10 and up. The music is a lot of fun, but surprisingly hard to remember. The film could use more of the sweet moments that Disney is known for.

Blu-ray extras include The Making of a Princess, Conjuring the Villain, The Return to Hand Drawn Animation, The Disney Legacy, Disney’s Newest Princess, Bringing Life to Animation, Art Galleries, “Never Knew I Needed” music video by Ne-Yo, and the “What Do You See?” princess portrait game.

DVD Extras include Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary, “Never Knew I Needed” Music Video by Ne-Yo, and “What Do You See?” princess portrait game. Disc three is the digital copy.

• The Princess and the Frog
• Directors: Ron Clements and John Musker
• Format: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 U.S. and Canada
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: March 16, 2010
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Price: $29.99 for single-disc DVD, Blu-ray $39.99, 3-disc combo $44.99

By Gabrielle Pantera

Michael Jackson, a thriller on stage in This Is It

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 1/26/2010 – “This is it is the telling of Michael Jackson’s last great creative process,” says This Is It choreographer Travis Payne. “We cut together a piece for the fans,” says This Is It director Kenny Ortega.

This Is It doesn’t glamorize Jackson’s life. You get to see how hard he worked and how focused he was at rehearsals. Ortega edited 120 hours of rehearsal footage into the 111-minute documentary. Jackson performs material that spanned his career. All the footage shot was intended for Jackson’s private use, was not intended to be a documentary.

In one scene Jackson tells Ortega he’ll cue the dancers when to react to a scene projected on the stage’s huge screen. Ortega points out that Jackson will have his back to the screen, that he won’t be able to see it. Jackson says, “I’ll just feel it.” When the moment comes, Jackson hits the cue without looking.

The performers who where chosen to work with Jackson came from all over. They just wanted the chance to work with Jackson. Jackson was exacting with his performers. He wanted everything just right. but kept his temper. He asks the performers to do their job “with L-O-V-E.”

This Is It on Blu-ray has the complete uncut versions of Smooth Criminal and Thriller. Smooth Criminal is in black and white. Two new segments show him rehearsing. The making-of for Smooth Criminal is also here. Advancements in technology enable Ortega to have Jackson share the screen with screen legends like Bogart in Smooth Criminal. Jackson loved old Hollywood.

Ortega and Jackson updated Thriller. This new video has new dance moves, and again you can tell Jackson loved movies because he has made it even more visually appealing. There are ghosts, zombies and ghouls.

Jackson was still a great entertainer. It would have been quite a show to see live. Unfortunately, the singer died of a prescription drug overdose before the show opened. This Is It gives a real sense of what Jackson was famous for. It shows a dedicated performer who brought joy to the world of music and dance. After the credits there are few more scenes that you don’t want to miss.

This Is It was produced by Randy Phillips, Kenny Ortega and Paul Gongaware. The executive producers are John Branca and John McClain.

The Songs of This Is It:

• “Wanna Be Startin’ Something”
• “Jam”
• “They Don’t Care About Us”
• “Human Nature”
• “Smooth Criminal”
• “The Way You Make Me Feel”
• Jackson 5 Medley
• “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)”
• “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”
• “Thriller”
• “Beat It”
• “Black Or White”
• “Earth Song”
• “Billie Jean”
• “Man in the Mirror”

“This Is It”

• DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: January 26th
• Starring Michael Jackson
• Director: Kenny Ortega
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG for some suggestive choreography and scary images
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• $39.95

By Gabrielle Panera

Tigger in a Valentine's Day moment

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 1/22/2010 – Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has re-released a special edition of Winnie-the-Pooh, A Valentine for You.

A Valentine For You is the story of Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends who see Christopher Robin write a Valentine’s Day card to someone named Winifred. Owl explains that Winifred must be a girl, a creature that’s just like boys but completely different. Owl says Christopher Robin is smitten. The gang think Robin’s been bitten by a bug called Smitten. They go in search of a cure to help Christopher Robins get better.

Un-Valentine’s Day and Three Piglets were both part of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh animated TV show. In Un-Valentine’s Day, Rabbit declares that there will be no Valentine’s Day because Winnie-the-Pooh went overboard with giving cards to his friends. Pooh receives a gift of honey on Valentine’s Day and feels he must give a gift in return. So starts this secret celebration of Valentine’s Day. In Three Piglets, Winnie-the-Pooh tells his version of the Three Little Pigs. The pigs are trying to avoid the Big Bad Bunny!

This Valentine themed animated collection features three Winnie the Pooh stories Winnie the Pooh a Valentine for You, Un-Valentine’s Day and My Hero a new-to-DVD adventure. A fun bonus feature Catch the Love Bug game, and Pooh-themed Valentines cards inside each DVD.

Winnie-the-Pooh, A Valentine for You and Un-Valentine’s Day were last released on DVD in the 2004. New to this DVD is My Hero, an episode from the animated TV series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, plus six Valentine’s Day cards that feature Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Piglet. The menu has been changed to make the DVD easier to navigate.

There are variations in animation quality. A Valentine for You is classic 2D animation and looks as vibrant as when it was first shown in 1999. In The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the picture is not as crisp and clear as A Valentine for You. An adult will notice, but a child won’t. A Valentine for You is 22 minutes long. Un-Valentine’s Day and Three Piglets together are 27:30 long.

If you own the original 2004 DVD, the content is almost the same. New are the My Hero TV episode, the six Valentine’s cards and the new menu and trailers. A great Valentine’s Day gift for kids aged two to eight. Defiantly worth getting and sharing with your kids.

A Valentine for You will teach your kids to fall in love with Valentine’s Day. The animation and songs will delight your child. A Valentine For You shows there’s always room for new friends as well as old.

Winnie-the-Pooh, A Valentine for You

• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition
• Language: English. The audio track has options English, French and Spanish language tracks. Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.
• Region: Region 1 U.S. and Canada only
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Not Rated
• Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 5, 2010
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• $29.99

By Gabrielle Pantera

Return to Cranford, Judi Dench saves the town

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 1/19/2010 – “Judi Dench is a close friend,” says Cranford co-creator Sue Birtwistle. “And once you’ve got her on board, then it’s much easier to get others on board. In fact, when we said we were doing the sequel, all the actors who we hadn’t killed off in the first series said yes. Actually, Imelda Staunton said, ‘Can we do this every year for ten weeks, please?’”

Cranford is a Victorian-era village. Judi Dench returns as Matty Jenkins, minus Eileen Atkins who played her sister in the first miniseries that premiered in 2008. The industrial revolution is already in full swing in England, but in Cranford they are trying to stop the railroad from coming to town. Change is inevitable and Dench’s character helps to herald in the change. Matty is a loving, caring yet strong character. Cranford is steeped in tradition, but as the young start to leave the village she realizes that they need to let the railway come to Cranford.

“As it happened, the first Cranford got a huge audience and [BBC controller of fiction] Jane Tranter said, ‘Will you do some more?” At the time I thought, ‘Yikes, no!’ because we had been editing right up until the last minute and I was exhausted,” says Birtwistle. “About three weeks later, I realized that I loved it so much that it would be silly not to do a sequel.”

Sue Birtwistle is known for her literary adaptations, including Pride and Prejudice (the one with Collin Firth) Wives and Daughters, King Lear, Emma, and Cranford. Return to Cranford is based on the books by Elizabeth Gaskell.

“What I like about Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing is that she’s non-Victorian,” says Birtwistle. “I find her very modern. She’s non-judgmental about her characters, who range from the top to the bottom of society, which is refreshing. She’s also quite funny.”

“One of the things that is wonderful to dramatize is the way tragedy and comedy are so closely intertwined in her work,” says Birtwistle. Important things and trivial things are side by side. That’s so like real life, and that’s one of the things that our cast can do very well. You can be watching a scene and listening to, say, Imelda Staunton or Judi Dench, and you can laugh at them. But, you’re incredibly moved as well, because there’s real feeling there.”

“When we started the second series, Judi found that she was given the same old knitted mittens with no fingers that she’d worn the first time around,” says Birtwistle. “She asked the costume designer, “Am I getting a new pair of mittens?” The costume designer said, “Absolutely not! Elegant economy!” So Judi pulled these mittens around quite a lot during shooting. And when we got to the final scene in the assembly room, she said, “I’m more dressed up. Do you think I can have a new pair of mittens, because it’s Christmas?” And the costume designer said, ‘Absolutely not! You’ve got to make do with those!’ We did that with all the costumes. Where the dresses were worn, they were trimmed with a bit of new ribbon, which is exactly what those women would have done.”

Birtwistle says she came from a market town like Cranford. “My neighborhood was the church, the school, four streets, some fields, and the railway line going through. What was strange, well, similar, was that it was a neighborhood dominated by women just like in Gaskell’s stories.”

Imelda Staunton stars as Miss Pole. Julia McKenzie is Mrs. Forrester. And, Barbara Flynn is Mrs. Jamieson. Also starring Tom Hiddleston, who was in Wallander, and Tim Curry who plays a magician.

Dench’s character is the catalyst in Cranford. Even when other characters seem more forceful, it’s Dench’s character who holds everything together for the town.

Return to Cranford

• DVD: $24.98
• Duration: 177 minutes on 1 Disc
• Release date: 2/9/2010 (available to pre-order now)

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