Discussing Film, Music, TV, Books, Video Games and More
“I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I did in my previous movie wasn’t very nice”
This is a breakdown of The Wolverine trailer, which is included after the break. [Lauren’s note: for this breakdown we’ve got a special guest writer, so be nice!] [Read more...]
A new trailer is all over the internet today for the upcoming Iron Man sequel, and it’s still presenting itself as bigger and better than Iron Man 2. Suck it Whiplash, and your stupid ribbon dancers can too! Here were my thoughts while watching the trailer. Don’t worry, if you don’t care about those you can just watch the preview after the break. [Read more...]
Zac: Wreck-It Ralph is a beautiful and loving homage to arcade games that I wish was more than just that for the majority of its runtime. [Read more...]
Finding Nemo is a great film and you should rush out to see it this weekend whether you like 3D or not.
The concept of a Digital Copy in the home video market has always interested me, but it wasn’t until recently that the format has really stepped forward as a serious essential for movie fans and home video collectors. [Read more...]
Hello internet perusers! We are back with round 2 of the four part year break down of things to come. Between April and June, the writers on HST have plenty that we are looking forward to in movies, music, and games,, and we want to share them with you. No, none of these are April Fool’s jokes. Zac is actually really excited to see a movie about male strippers. [Read more...]
Beauty and the Beast is back in theaters with the Disney 3D treatment and it is pretty much a success all around. [Read more...]
Cars 2 is fun, funny, fast paced, and an exciting spy movie that improves upon the original Cars and has fun with the genre its playing in; while turning in some quality set pieces that a lot of action movies wish they had.
Check out my review of the Toy Story Toons short in front of Cars 2; Hawaiian Vacation.
The original Cars has grown on me every time I’ve seen it and while it’s still my least favorite Pixar film I still think it is quite a good little movie. One thing I realized recently about Cars, don’t know why it took so long, is that it is almost without a plot. Sure there is the race but it is just a character piece more or less and that realization even furthered my enjoyment of the original film. And it wasn’t till we got to Radiator Springs in Cars 2 that I realized how much I liked and missed these characters and their stories. I honestly think I would have enjoyed Cars 2 had it just been another nice and easy character piece in Radiator Springs and this sequel made me retroactively appreciate Cars even more for its great character work.
People that were affected, consciously or not, by Cars lack of plot will have no issues here as Cars 2 is full of it. [Read more...]
The Toy Story gang is back in the first of three short ‘Toy Story Toons’ and after this I can not wait for more.
Disney’s Tangled is the studio’s best computer animated effort yet and continues to show that John Lasseter’s control over the Mouse House animation team is a brilliant move in the right direction. Having said that, there is still room for improvement in Tangled but as it stands it is still a very entertaining and attractive family offering.
A retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale, the story follows the tale’s title character whom is unknowingly being held captive in a secluded tower by a centuries old witch(?) who exploits the magic powers of Rapunzel’s hair. Rapunzel’s hair was enchanted with the ability to heal/give ever lasting youth to its touch after summoning its power with a song and the witch, Gothel, will do anything to keep the hair within her grasps. Painting a terrifying and treacherous picture of the world outside the tower Gothel’s grip on Rapunzel is beginning to wane as she gets older and longs for life outside her secluded hideaway. Enter Flynn Ryder, a thief on the run after stealing Rapunzel’s waiting crown if she ever returns to her royal family she was stolen from as a baby. Ryder stumbles upon Rapunzel’s hideaway and he is forced by her to take her to see the annual lights that appear on her birthday every year in the night sky. The two set out on their journey and an unexpected relationship forms between the two.
Most little girls who are not outside playing in the dirt with the boys are busy fantasizing about growing up to be a princess, so the next logical step in that train of thought when Disney classics mix in is which Disney princess they would like to be. Some prefer a pumpkin carriage to a ball to dance the night away with a prince, while others may lean towards flying across the sky on a magic carpet. With the release of Tangled, it looks like there are going to be more girls growing their hair long, waiting for the day for a prince to come along and ask her to let it down for him.
Other than the classic line: “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair” I’m sure I am not alone in saying that I really couldn’t elaborate on the story of this long haired girl locked away in a tower. As a matter of fact, I actually had to google it just to see what it was all about, and turns out it’s a Grimm one from time to time (oh ho ho play on words…). Working the good ol’ Disney magic, the story of Rapunzel is changed up to form a happier, exciting adventure story. Plus, we have a new male lead. Everyone knows the damsel being saved by a Prince is so 2D. [Read more...]
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a fun and thoroughly enjoyable fantasy film that is fast paced and features some great performances by its leads; if only they could have gone a bit grander in the fights and action set pieces.
The film opens with a little back story as we encounter Merlin fighting with Morgana who is trying to steal a powerful spell from him and the ensuing fight leads to Merlin’s death and sets his apprentice, Balthazar, on a quest to find the Prime Merlinian, the fabled sorcerer’s successor. Enter Dave, who comes across Balthazar many hundreds of years into his quest and he is revealed to be a potential successor to Merlin. A bit of a hiccup delays any training and Dave grows up unknowing of his lineage until Balthazar reappears ten years after their first encounter and the set off to stop a growing threat of the possibility of the resurgence of Morgana.
I am just going to go ahead and apologize now cuz things are about to get sentimental.
As I am sure many people will admit to, when I was little I seriously wondered if my toys could come to life when I wasn’t around. Then Toy Story was released, and though I was a very sophisticated seven year old (don’t make that face mom) it was hard not to hope that maybe my toys were at home right then doing something ridiculous. As I grew older I stopped looking for the life behind those beady little plastic eyes, yet while watching Toy Story 3 it’s impossible not to sink comfortably back into that childhood fantasy.
Mirroring the years that have passed since the last film, many years have passed for our beloved gang in Toy Story 3. Their owner Andy has grown up and is days away from leaving home to start the college experience, packing all the necessities he will need in his home away from home. Some things that have not made the “Things to Pack” list are the toys, who are coming to terms with this the best they can and accepting their future stored in the attic. [Read more...]
The toys that made Pixar who they are today are back for their third (and final?) film and the results are on par with the stellar previous entries; especially the fantastic third act.
The third film in this trilogy takes place eight years after the events of the second film and the toys are dying for some attention. Andy is a teenager, about to head off to college, and the family of toys has gotten smaller and neglected from being played with for some time. The toys are able to deal with the lack of attention for the most part, they are more concerned with being thrown away or being split up more than anything and they are planning to make sure that doesn’t happen. But after a couple of close calls and detours the group ends up at Sunnyside Daycare where they will be seemingly be played with a revolving door of kids for years to come but Sunnyside might not be exactly as cozy as it seems.
Like this week’s Princess and the Frog deal Disney is again, as they always do, offering coupons on their newest Blu-ray entry, this time the Toy Story Films!
Head here to print off your coupons which saves $5 dollars on each title for a total of $10 of savings on the two titles. But that is not all, at Target the titles are selling for $19.99 each, plus if you buy both you save another $10 so you get both Toy Story’s on Blu for $20 Dollars! That is a deal.
Also, if you have any of the old Toy Story DVD’s you might want to hold on to those and not trade them in, especially the Ultimate Toy Box Collection, as there are still a few extras not ported over to these Blu-Ray’s.
Again, head here to get your coupon, and make sure you print our your right territory as the Canada ones will not work in the US and vice versa.
Happy Saving!
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