DVDizzy Forum

Finally finished reading the "Brothers and Sisters" review... I'm interested in the show primarily because of its "Everwood" connections and after reading the review, I have a few more reasons to be interested. The human drama element I expected; the suspenseful nature of the story arcs, however, I did not. Seems like a combination I'd like to see coming from some of the hands behind "Everwood", even if it is marked by some of the flaws pointed out in the review. Anyways, I thought the review did an excellent job of conveying an honest appraisal of the show in a very specific, analytical way, rather than merely praising or dismissing. Very well done, Luke!

-Aaron

Great "Meet the Robinsons" review, Luke! But, it says that the release date is October 2, 2007. I think someone forgot to type a "3"...and, on my computer, anyway, the picture of Grandpa in his hat is just a box with a red "X" and a caption...

But, on the plus side, it really was a great, thorough review! I'm really excited to watch the film again. I really liked the "One of the most entertaining animated movies of the decade" part- that made me smile! I thought that MTR had a lot of heart.

Just finished reading the MTR review Luke! Great job! I'd already read the movie review you wrote six months ago, but I had been anticipating this review for quite some time. Beautifully written, as always (quite your trademark, actually ).

Luke, I have something to ask. When I watch a 3D animated film, what should I look out for to determine the quality of the amimation? It's just that I know much less about 3D than I do about 2D, and feel generally confused about the medium. Now I think Meet the Robinsons had some dazzling animation, but that's coming from someone who's not even sure how to judge CG animation. Hence, my opinion is worthless. Moreover, in the case of Meet the Robinsons, you hear people praising the film's visuals, and others criticizing them. akhenaten, for example, has repeatedly said that Meet the Robinsons is unimpressive in its designs and texturing (and other stuff), and when I remarked how much I loved the animation of the "Insta-Building" sequence, he said that that was one of the easiest things you can do in CG (whereas I had the impression that it was a groundbreaking piece of super elastic mega squash and stretch never-seen-anytyhing-like-it-before CG animation). Whom should I believe?

Julian Carter wrote:JLuke, I have something to ask. When I watch a 3D animated film, what should I look out for to determine the quality of the amimation? It's just that I know much less about 3D than I do about 2D, and feel generally confused about the medium. Now I think Meet the Robinsons had some dazzling animation, but that's coming from someone who's not even sure how to judge CG animation.

Well, I'm not Luke, but I would say the quality of the animation is unimportant. What matters is how it makes you feel. You know, somebody could do the most amazing, ground breaking animation of all time - but it could just be of an old man sleeping in a bed for 2 hours. It could be absolutely a work of art, but at the same time, not very entertaining.

"Book learning" is good, but does "book learning" make you appreciate a Picasso picture more than say, a Michelangelo picture? Both are, according to the experts and the "rules" they have created "quality" art. But different people prefer each style differently.

For me, you need both Quality and Entertainment. And not in equal amounts either - something very entertaining can get by with less quality in the animation for example.

Hence, my opinion is worthless.

Great job with MTR review, Luke! It was thorough and entertaining as always, and I really liked how you also mentioned Danny Elfman's score and commented on it. I've often felt that in many DVD reviews the score is rarely touched upon (which is a shame, considering how important film scores can be in films), so I'm glad that you took your time to give some room to the score in your review as well.

Yes,very great job,Luke!

I can't wait to get this!

Thanks for the awesome reviews of Meet the Robinsons and "Family Ties". I've seen the former several times in theaters and can't wait for the DVD... gotta love UD for letting us know about things like the effects-only track in advance! Glad that your opinion of the movie has risen a little on the second viewing, Luke (not that you were too down on it in the original screening review from earlier this year).

I've only seen a little bit of "Family Ties" but I'm eager to see more now that I've read your review. From what I've seen, your analysis rings true. Hopefully you'll be reviewing "Spin City": Season 2 this time next year!

-Aaron

A quick note about the HD DVD release of Knocked Up. It doesn't actually contain all the supplements of the 2 disc set, in fact, it contains none of them! It has the first disc's extras and the unrated film on the HD side and the rated film plus supplements on the DVD side.

However, it does feature PiP U-Control which (I have been led to believe is about 50 mins of content sprinkled throughout the movie) and it also has some of the 2nd Disc contents available for downloading. I assume one day the full lot may be available, but its a pain (downloading is slow, and no player will have enough storage to store all the content indefinitely).

Its perplexing why Universal have chosen to do this, especially when their Hot Fuzz was so packed on HD DVD, surpassing any (then current) release in the US and even the re-issue of The 40 Year Old Virgin on HD DVD contains all the supplements from the 2 disc set. I can fully understand why people would expect Knocked Up to do the same (I know I did).

I just wanted to thank the reviewers for doing such a great job. I recently checked out the reviews for The Jungle Book, Meet the Robinsons, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Transformers, and Jingle All the Way. I found something enjoyable or informative in each of them.

Though our views are not always in 100% agreement, I tend to agree with the UD crew more often than not, and I always end up making a more informed choice.

Great new reviews,guys!

Thanks all for the new feedback and Netty for the <i>Knocked Up</i> correction. Much appreciated!

Awesome job with the Pixar Shorts review. I really enjoyed reading this one since I haven't seen all of the shorts yet. I have seen all of the Shorts that appear on their respected Pixar DVD releases, such as "Geri's Game" and "Knick Knack" etc. However, some of the other shorts, like "Luxo Jr." and "The Adventures of Andre and Wally B." I have yet to see. I will be adding this to my Disney collection and I can't wait to watch them all.

Awesome PIXAR review!

The review for the Pixar Shorts Collection is great; it's too bad the product isn't.

I just can't imagine who they're trying to reach with this DVD. If you love Pixar and/or animation, then you probably own most of the shorts already. A couple new-to-DVD shorts and scant bonus features aren't enough to make the purchase worthwhile.

Great Ratatouille review! I just wish you could've enjoyed it more, but I'm glad you said that it is worthy to be in our collection.

I was just curious as to where you read about the scenes that Brad Bird had changed for the DVD release? Is it on the bonus feature?

Nice job on the Ratatouille review. I really wish it were 2-discs, but I am glad just to be adding this time to my DVD collection. I think it is a really cute film with a lot of heart and I can't wait to watch it again.

Nice job on both Pixar reviews!!

I do agree that the Pixar Shorts Collection is not necessary if you already own all the other Pixar DVDs, however there are people like me who don't like all of Pixar's feature films but love the shorts. For those the DVD is what they want and some nice bonuses. The price is a little high for that, but all the Disney DVDs are kind of pricey.

I am sorry that you couldn't enjoy Ratatouille more. For me it was the first Pixar that I truly loved, but then again, I am European, so maybe it appeals to me more.
The DVD is okay I think although I have to agree that it's sad the times of fabulous 2-Disc sets are gone.

Dottie wrote: I do agree that the Pixar Shorts Collection is not necessary if you already own all the other Pixar DVDs, however there are people like me who don't like all of Pixar's feature films but love the shorts. For those the DVD is what they want and some nice bonuses. The price is a little high for that, but all the Disney DVDs are kind of pricey.

Even if you do have all of the Pixar films on DVD you still wouldn't have all of the shorts on DVD. I am excited to get the shorts collection because I have never seen "Luxo Jr." and "The Adventures of Andre and Wally B." These shorts aren't on any of the Pixar DVD releases, are they?

While I always appreciate the reviews, I have to disagree on the opinions given about the Pixar Shorts Collection, Volume 1 and Ratatouille.

While it may be that most Disney/Pixar fans have the majority of the animated shorts featured on Pixar Shorts Collection, Volume 1, they will not have all of them. We also don't have the bonus features, commentary, and bonus shorts. On top of that, we don't have them all together on one disc. With this release, we will. I think that the price is well worth it.

Second, while you may not enjoy Ratatouille, as much as others do, it is far from Pixar's weakest effort. It's really hard to say that they have a weak effort, but, if you had to choose one that was the weakest, I don't see how Ratatouille could be the one?

At any rate, I know it has to do with personal preferences. So, I'll just have to chalk it up to that, and hope that you'll enjoy their next effort.

Thanks for the great Santa Clause 3 DVD review. I missed this one in theaters, and am now greatly anticipating finally being able to see it! I hadn't even researched a plot summary until now, and found your review brought me even more excitement to view the movie.

Thanks!