DVD Review: Prince Killian And The Holy Grail

I’ve long enjoyed sword and sorcery films, ever since I was a child. Because there have never been all that many of them, I’ve learned to accept and enjoy even the moderately decent ones. Often the problems are in the production value. That’s not so with Prince Killian And The Holy Grail. Clearly a lot of thought, time and money went into the locations, the props, the costumes. The film has a good look to it. And the plot is full of the things we’ve come to expect from this genre: magic, witches, castles, sword fights, and religious artifacts.

If the title is unfamiliar to you, you might have heard of it under another of its titles. The original title is El Capitan Trueno Y El Santo Grial. It is also known as Captain Thunder and Order Of The Grail. The film takes place in 1291 (which the DVD case mistakenly refers to as the twelfth century, but we’ll forgive them that), during The Crusades.

The film opens with a little narration, telling us of “An event that would change our history and which was kept secret for centuries by a nameless bloodline. This is their story.” Okay, I’m on board. We then see a man spying on a Christian camp. He rides back to his castle to warn his father that the forces are large and they’ll soon learn he’s unprotected. His father orders the Christian prisoners executed, and tells his son, Prince Hassan, to burn everything. “Nothing is to be left standing. Let not these barbarians humiliate our memory.” And he hands Hassan a medallion before leaving. It’s great that we meet these people first, and that they’re not portrayed as simple, evil enemies. By introducing them before we meet the Christians, we actually care more for them. Also, Asier Exteandía, who plays Prince Hassan, is one of the better actors in the film.

We are then introduced to two of the Christian prisoners, Crispin and Goliath. These are much sillier characters, and the tone of the film changes greatly once they’re on screen. Prince Killian and his men arrive to rescue them, and there is some very silly business in the ensuing fight, such as half a dozen men piling on top of Goliath to subdue him and him easily shaking them off.

Prince Killian (Sergio Peris Mencheta) is also known as Thunder because he was born in a storm, and has the mark of a storm on his neck. An old prisoner in the castle sees that mark and gives him a special chalice he had hidden in his cell and tells Killian to return it to the Custodial Knights, and to find a man named Morgano in Spain. He also tells Killian not to trust anyone. (By the way, that warning doesn’t really come into play, as none of Killian’s men ever attempt to betray him.)

Another man enters the old man’s cell, looking for the chalice, which of course is the holy grail. The old man says, “A chalice that will save humanity from its own destruction.” I’m not exactly sure how the cup is supposed to do that, and it’s never really explained, but that’s okay.

Killian also rescues a princess from the castle (because there always has to be a princess). Sigrid (Natasha Yarovenko), Princess of Thule, is a strong woman who believes the men are there only to rescue her. King Richard assigns Killian a new mission: to go to Spain to discover the source of the troubles there which were vaguely described in a letter he received, and to see Sigrid safely delivered home. So that works out, since he needs to take the chalice there anyway.

When they set out on their mission, we get one of those shots of a map, with their progress noted by a red line moving across it. It turns out this is simply to avoid expensive boat shots, and perhaps to save time. The movie moves them directly to Spain, where they find a line of men buried up to their heads in the sand. And there appears to be some sort of monster beneath them. Also, the folk of the countryside are being terrorized by a group of men known as the devils. So Killian and his crew have their work set out for them.

One thing I appreciate it is that though this film is set during the Crusades, and its main character is a soldier in the Crusades, it is actually not really about the Crusades. Though when Killian is captured by Sir Black (the bad guy), he says he’s a soldier fighting for a cause, and Black replies, “You are a mercenary who believes in the farce of the Crusades.” So it’s more of a backdrop to the action, and is not entirely forgotten once we get into the plot of the grail, which is good. Also, I like that the bad guy has a valid point.  (By the way, that scene reminds me of Time Bandits, as Prince Killian is in a metal cage suspended off the ground in a dark room.)

Though I enjoyed this film, it is certainly not without its share of problems. The acting in the film is uneven. And there are some continuity issues. When Sigrid is cleaning a beaten Killian, Killian’s lips are chapped and bloody. But a second later his lips have healed. And then they’re bloody again. Since these are all close-up shots, someone should have noticed that. And of course there are problems of believability. Obviously we accept the magic and all of that, as it goes with the territory. But there is a moment when Black could very easily finish off Killian, but doesn’t, which is completely unbelievable. The film’s score is also problematic. The music in this film is often overbearing. It’s like the filmmakers felt a need to use music to punch up every moment, or at least to comment on it. It relaxes a bit later on, but in the early scenes, it’s relentless.

And at the end it says, “To be continued…” And I’m not sure why. The film is based on a comic book, and the closing credits are done in a comic book style (while a terrible rock song plays).

Prince Killian And The Holy Grail is presented in Spanish, with English subtitles. The DVD also includes an English dubbed version. There are no other special features on the DVD.

Prince Killian And The Holy Grail is scheduled to be released on DVD on April 29, 2014 through Shout! Factory.

DVD Review: Angels In Stardust

Angels In Stardust is an unusual and sweet drama about a teenager with an active imagination living in a small, dead-end town. It stars AJ Michalka as Vallie Sue, a girl with dreams of becoming a writer; Alicia Silverstone as Tammy, Vallie Sue’s mother, who is more interested in dating than in being a parent; and Billy Burke as The Cowboy, the man Vallie Sue confides in.

The movie opens on a surprisingly delightful note: Vallie Sue and The Cowboy discussing their shared love for glazed doughnuts, leading to their acknowledgement that things have changed in the area. It’s not dwelt upon, or given more weight than it deserves, but rather just acknowledged, which is nice.

And then we see that they’re in an old drive-in theatre, and The Cowboy is actually on the screen, talking with Vallie Sue, who is crouched on a see-saw in the dirt in front of the screen. The area is referred to as Tardust, because the “S” in the “Stardust Drive-In Theatre” is missing. Loretta, Vallie Sue’s friend, shows up and tells Vallie Sue she saw her talking to herself again. So right away we’re made aware that it is only Vallie Sue who sees and hears The Cowboy on the screen.

The area where they live is depressing and cut off from the world (as I suppose all trailer parks must feel). The Cowboy tells Vallie Sue there’s all sorts of weird stuff out in the world. “Nature is peculiar,” he says. Though Vallie Sue wants to become a writer, The Cowboy interestingly is not a character completely of her own invention. When her younger brother, Pleasant, is watching television, he points out to Vallie Sue that her favorite character is on. And there is The Cowboy.

Vallie Sue confides in The Cowboy like a diary. He is safe in the same way that a diary is – safer even than telling friends. Of course, because The Cowboy is a fictitious character who is basically in her head, he can only voice her own thoughts, and so he can’t offer any real advice – none she couldn’t offer herself anyway.

Tammy is thirty-one, and so had Vallie Sue when she was very young, and that might explain some of her shortcomings as a parent. Tammy is occupied mainly with dating, and works at a funeral parlor. When a widower who recently purchased a big property is a client at the funeral parlor, Tammy flirts with him. She begins dating him, until she learns he’s in debt, then moves on to another man. Vallie Sue herself has basically no experience with boys.

There are some serious elements for a young teenager to be dealing with, including raising her younger brother, dealing with a couple of dangerous neighbors, a missing female neighbor, and a mother who is at best absent. At one point, after Vallie Sue and her mother fight, her mom says: “You’re getting older now. You need to be finding yourself a man like I did when I was your age. I don’t know how much longer we can live under the same roof. You getting’ me?” The best advice Tammy can offer her daughter is precisely what has made her feel trapped in this town. It's a wonderfully sad and poignant moment.

This film has a lot of very short scenes. I do wish some of the scenes would go on longer, and give us more of a chance to sink into the film’s world. It bounces around a bit too much, like the girl’s thoughts, a new thought leading to a new scene. So it takes a while to get immersed in it. But eventually you do.

Several things are left unresolved in this film, but that’s okay, because this is really about a teenage girl’s world. And there aren’t always answers in a teenager’s world. Alicia Silverstone and Billy Burke deliver good performances (as they always do). But the real heart of this film lies in AJ Michalka’s remarkable performance as Vallie Sue.

Special Features

The DVD includes a few special features. The first is “Behind The Scenes Footage Under The Original Title Jesus In Cowboy Boots,” and is approximately nine minutes. Most of the footage is during production, but there is a bit of pre-production as well, including a little on storyboarding and location scouting. The production footage is from the first day of the shoot and also the rain days. There is no post-production footage.

The second is “EPK Footage Under The Original Title Jesus In Cowboy Boots.”  For those who don’t work in the film business, EPK stands for electronic press kit. This five-minute featurette includes interviews with cast members AJ Michalka, Alicia Silverstone, Billy Burke, Amelia Rose Blair, Tyler Riggs, Darin Heames and Michael Spears. There is also a bit of behind-the-scenes footage.

The special features also include the film’s trailer.

Angels In Stardust was written and directed by William Robert Carey. It was released on DVD on March 25, 2014 through Arc Entertainment.

DVD Review: The Practice: The Final Season

The Practice is a show that I watched regularly. It had a phenomenal cast. And even in its eighth and final season, after the departures of Dylan McDermott, LisaGay Hamilton, Kelli Williams, Lara Flynn Boyle and Marla Sokoloff, the show still had a great cast. The core members were Steve Harris, Camryn Manheim, and Michael Badalucco, along with Jessica Capshaw, who had joined the cast the previous season. Added to this cast were James Spader as Alan Shore and Rhona Mitra as Tara Wilson.

James Spader is, as always, fantastic in this series. He adds a great deal of humor to this season, mainly because of his delivery (and of course because of the way the character was written). In particular, check out the episode titled “Equal Justice.” Alan Shore’s opening statement is hilarious, and the entire episode is full of James Spader’s brilliance. (Plus, that episode has an Asian guy talking about his exploding anus – yes, it sounds stupid, but it’s actually quite funny, and the episode ultimately has a lot of heart.)

In addition to an excellent cast, the show was addictive because of its continuing story lines, spread out over several episodes. It’s easy to go through these episodes quickly because of the continuing story lines, sometimes even with “To be continued” on screen at the end of an episode, leading – naturally – to just hitting “Play” on the next episode. In this final season, one of the highlights is a three-part episode in the middle of the season, featuring some excellent guest stars – Patrick Dempsey as Paul Stewart, a man accused of murder; Jill Clayburgh as the defendant’s mother; Betty White as a delightfully vindictive neighbor; Rick Hoffman as opposing counsel; and Edward Asner as the judge (he’s particularly good). I also appreciate the Red Sox references in these episodes (the password to get into the treehouse Alan Shore and the defendant built as children is “George Scott whiffs, inning over”). These episodes are among the best of any one-hour television drama ever. Many series, by their final season, are getting weak, running out of ideas. Not so with this series.

There are other recurring guest stars this season, including Sharon Stone as a lunatic lawyer named Sheila who believes she hears a female deity’s thoughts and that looking at someone for more than eight second at a time is an invasion of privacy. And Debi Mazar comes on as Gigi, the fiancée of Jimmy’s friend. And of course toward the end of the season William Shatner joins the cast as Denny Crane. (Yes, they were preparing for the series’ spinoff, Boston Legal, which would star William Shatner, James Spader, Rhona Mitra, Lake Bell, Betty White and others introduced in this season of The Practice.) William Shatner is absolutely fantastic in these episodes, somehow walking the fine line whereby the humor of his character never tips into outright silliness. Rebecca De Mornay and Gina Gershon also portray lawyers at this other firm.

The show also succeeds because of the writing. In every episode, at least one line would cause me to laugh out loud. Like in the season’s first episode, Alan Shore asks a woman, “May I call you Cindy?” The woman responds, “My name is Kate.” (Although that episode also rips off a joke about Robin Hood from the series Blackadder.) Here are a few other lines that I love: “I still love her, you know. I shot her, but I love her” (from the episode “Blessed Are They”); “Her head is all I have left of her” (from that same episode); “I suppose that when I see you alone I worry about the company you’re keeping” (Tara to Alan in “New Hoods On The Block”)

I appreciate that the main characters don’t always win (as in the really good episode “Victims’ Rights”). Plus, I like that the show actually tackles some important issues. Check out the episode titled “Police State” for example. And in “Avenging Angels” (and at least one other episode), the evils and dangers of the so-called Patriot Act are mentioned. And check out Eugene’s great speech against the death penalty in the episode “New Hoods On The Block.”

And the series wraps up nicely. By the end it really comes to be about the new directions the lives of these characters take. And Dylan McDermott returns for the final two episodes as Bobby Donnell.

The Practice: The Final Season is scheduled to be released on April 15, 2014 through Shout! Factory. There are no special features in this six-disc set.

DVD Review: The Bigamist

The Bigamist is a 1953 drama with an excellent cast: Joan Fontaine as Eve Graham, Ida Lupino as Phyllis Martin, and Edmond O’Brien as Harry Graham, the man married to both of them. Ida Lupino also directed this film, early in her directing career before switching to television. The cast is rounded out by Edmund Gwenn, forever famous as Kris Kringle in Miracle On 34th Street, here playing Mr. Jordan, a scrupulous man who works for an adoption agency, conducting background checks.

The film opens with Harry and Eve Graham in the process of adopting a child. Mr. Jordan hands them each one last form, giving the agency permission to “check into every detail” of their private lives. Eve signs away happily, but Harry hesitates. (I would hesitate too.) After they leave, Mr. Jordan records their information, a way of giving the audience the couple’s back story, including the fact that Harry is a traveling salesman who started a company four years ago aided by his wife, and that they’ve been married for eight years.

Meanwhile, a woman is cleaning the office, adding humor to the scene. Mr. Jordan indicates something bothers him about Harry, leading the woman to say, “If all the others was like you, there wouldn’t be any babies given away in this state at all.” She asks him why he’s like that, and he says, “If you had made a mistake once, you wouldn’t ever let it happen again.” And you can feel the regret, even sorrow in his voice, as well as see it on his face. This establishes that he is a man determined to do everything he can to guarantee safe homes for the children.

We then see Harry and Eve at home. Eve, confident that they’ll get a child, says, “Mr. Jordan looks like Santa Claus, just like a man who gives babies away,” an interesting reference to Edmund Gwenn’s most famous role in Miracle On 34th Street. The film makes an even more direct reference to that movie and role later. When Harry is in Los Angeles, he gets on one of the buses that tour Beverly Hills, pointing out the homes of the stars. The guide points out the homes of Jimmy Stewart, Jack Benny and Edmond Gwenn, saying of the last, “Santa Claus to the whole world” in Miracle On 34th Street. Harry then turns to the woman next to him and comments that that was a wonderful picture. It’s so interesting that in the world of The Bigamist, Edmund Gwenn exists both as a real actor and as a fictional character, and that other characters somewhat see the resemblance.

Harry travels to Los Angeles for business, and Mr. Jordan follows him there to continue his investigation, saying he was going to L.A. for a meeting anyway. He tracks him down to a house, and is about to leave when he hears a baby crying from the other room. It’s a really nice moment, because Harry goes to take care of the child, lovingly, not trying to hide it or lie or anything. That comes as a pleasant surprise.

The taxi waiting for Mr. Jordan honks, leading Harry to say: “Pay him off, tell him to go. You’ll wake them both up. My wife’s sick too. She’s in the other room, asleep. She’s been up with the baby two nights in a row.” And without a word, Mr. Jordan goes outside. This, to me, is when the film starts to get really good. While Mr. Jordan sends the taxi away, Harry lovingly checks on his wife (whom we still haven’t seen, and so for now she is only as we imagine her to be).

After Mr. Jordan returns and asks about Harry’s double life, the story is then told mainly in flashbacks, showing how Harry met the other woman, Phyllis. Ida Lupino is excellent as Phyllis, playing the character with both wit and vulnerability. When Harry comes on to her, she accepts his offer for dinner and then takes him to the Chinese restaurant where she actually works.

Harry calls Eve, and tells her about Phyllis, but Eve doesn’t take him seriously. This is one of the film’s best and most touching scenes, as he clearly wants to connect with his wife, unburden himself to her, but is unable to.

I like that Harry is not portrayed as a jerk or a selfish, evil man. It becomes completely understandable (almost inevitable) how he got caught in this set of circumstances. That’s due partly to the writing and directing, but I think in large part because of Edmond O’Brien’s performance.

This DVD has been restored from the original 35 mm film elements. However, the picture bounces around a bit during the opening credits. And there are scratches on the print, as well as a few missing frames here and there. But that sort of adds to the charm of watching these older films. The DVD contains no special features.

The Bigamist is scheduled to be released on March 25, 2014 through Film Chest.

DVD Review: The Dinosaur Experiment

Like most boys, I was a dinosaur freak as a kid. I collected little dinosaur figurines and watched Land Of The Lost and any sort of monster movie that featured anything resembling a dinosaur. Yet, until Jurassic Park I don’t ever remember hearing of velociraptors. In fact, at first I thought they were invented for that story. But since that film, they seem to be the most popular dinosaurs (along with the always-in-fashion Tyrannosaurus Rex). Well, raptors play a significant role in the new dinosaur horror film, The Dinosaur Experiment.

The Dinosaur Experiment is a ridiculous and very silly horror film, that plays more for comedy most of the time (intentionally). There are a lot of flaws, but the film is often quite enjoyable.

The film opens at night with some voice over by Abbi Whitecloud, who introduces herself, telling us she lives in Fossil Ridge, a small town in Texas. She dreams of heading to Abilene and pursuing a career in music. She is also proficient with the bow and arrow.

We’re then introduced to a lot of characters, some of whom are interesting and some of whom are dull stereotypes. One of the interesting characters is Dr. Cane. At first, he just seems like some weird guy whom we expect to quickly become a meal for a dinosaur. After all, he’s entering a barn, from which weird noises are emanating. But it turns out he has a dinosaur trapped behind an electric fence in there. And, as he reminds the dinosaur, he raised the creature. “I used to hold you and sometimes you’d come and crawl in my bed.” They have a special bond, which is delightfully twisted. I like the way the film very early on goes against expectations.

Abbi (Jana Mashonee) wakes up and shoots an arrow at a picture of Billy Wayne (the picture says, “Billy Wayne for mayor”). A package of sexy red shoes arrives at her door, and so she puts them on and heads to work. So we think maybe she’s some kind of stripper or something. But those expectations are played with as well. It turns out she works at a gas station that also has a convenience store and a small diner. Her dead mother owes money to Billy Wayne (who apparently lost his mayoral bid and owns the gas station) for a truck she bought, a truck we’ve already seen break down. I like that she doesn’t argue with him that the truck he sold her mother has broken down. It’s like she knows that would be pointless, and her silence on it gives us the feeling the truck has been an issue for a while.

Unfortunately, not all of the characters are as interesting or original. We meet Lucas Young (Donny Boaz), a college student who arrives to class only moments before it ends, and jokes with a friend during the brief time he’s there. Why go to class for just the last minute? Why are characters like this even in college? I always feel like characters like this were written by people who never attended college themselves, and got their entire concept of what college is from other films written by people who also didn’t go to college. Anyway, Lucas and his two friends, one of whom is named Beast (Really?), take a skiing trip (though this is Texas, and appears to be warm weather). Beast is the typical party animal, and Sheldon, the third member of this ski trip, is the normal guy that is taken advantage of (it’s his mother’s car that they’re using).

We’re introduced to more ridiculous characters. A band is playing at a town hall somewhere, a trio made up of front man Little Willie (like from the Sweet song?) and two girls. The girl behind the drum kit is clearly not playing at all. The filmmakers couldn’t find a female drummer who could match the playback track for even three or four seconds? A redneck in the audience holds up a gun, so the band stops, escaping in their Partridge Family bus in the middle of the day. Why did all those folks pack that hall if they weren’t interested in the band?Who brings a rifle to a concert? It's absurd.

There are also two FBI agents in Austin who receive an email about a killing in Fossil Ridge. Oddly, one agent says, “in this town called Fossil Ridge, Texas.” But they’re in Austin, so wouldn’t he just say “Fossil Ridge”? He wouldn’t mention the state unless it were a different state. The FBI guys arrive in Fossil Ridge, where Atwood, a CSI member, is already on the scene. So are Sheriff Morgan and Deputy Jones. Sheriff Morgan asks Atwood if she’s had a chance to check anything out yet. She says, “No.” So Morgan begins describing the scene, but Atwood interrupts. “This is very unusual. The teeth marks indicate a very large predator-type creature.” But she hasn’t checked anything out yet. She then goes on to describe footprints. But she hasn’t checking anything out yet.

Meanwhile, Little Willie’s bus is breaking down, and the college boys run out of gas in Fossil Ridge. So everyone ends up at Billy Wayne’s place. Anyway, the gas station is out of gas because Dr. Cane took it all. They hear a groan, which Billy identifies as coming from Dr. Cane’s place. There are rumors of what is going on up there, but no one knows for sure because he’s so mysterious and secretive and so on. Anyway, Abbi leads a few of them to Cane’s place to get gas. By the way, Cane’s property has a large sign saying “Raptor Ranch.” So not such a secret project after all. So much for the mystery surrounding the good doctor.

While looking for a gas can, Beast finds an electric box marked “Lights,” so he turns it on. To the right is a box marked “T Rex.” To the left is a box marked “Doors.” He says, “I love The Doors,” and flips the switch. What, not a Marc Bolan fan? Of course, that opens the doors, releasing the dinosaurs. The dinosaurs look pretty cool, by the way.

Soon these stupid characters are picked off one by one, and these are some of the film’s most enjoyable moments. There’s a wonderful moment where Lucas and Josie are having sex. She’s on top, and a dinosaur comes in and bites her head off. There’s one very brief shot where Lucas’ hands are still on her breasts, but the dinosaur’s head is coming in over Josie’s neck, so it looks like Lucas is having sex with a dinosaur-head girl. I love it. I also love that Non-Drummer Girl starts laughing when the dinosaurs attack the bus they’re hiding in. She goes mad, which is nice. You don’t see that often enough in horror films, and it’s a totally believable reaction to such an insane set of circumstances. At one point she says she’s fishing. Sheldon asks, “For what?” And the joy in her response, “I don’t know,” is so great, and is one of my favorite things in the film. And I love the moment when Non-Drummer Girl rides the bicycle.

It’s interesting that with all the dinosaurs and destruction in town that no one else has come around to see what the fuss is about.  Where are the sheriff, the deputy, the CSI chick and the two FBI agents? They disappear for a good long time. And Abbi, who is introduced as a master with the bow, only shoots off a couple of arrows at the dinosaurs. Why introduce the whole bow thing in the very first speech of the film if it’s not going to come into play later on? Also, there is no explanation on how Cane created the dinosaurs.

At the end of the film, one of the agents tells a reporter, “This isn’t Jurassic Park.” Indeed it isn’t.

The Dinosaur Experiment was directed by Danny Bishop and is scheduled to be released on DVD on May 27, 2014. It will also be available on Video On Demand starting April 1, 2014.

DVD Review: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: “A Dash Of Awesome”

The newest My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic collection, A Dash Of Awesome, contains five episodes all featuring Rainbow Dash, voiced by Ashleigh Ball. I have to admit that Rainbow Dash is not my favorite pony. Of course, in admitting that, I’m also admitting that I do have a favorite pony. (It’s Pinkie Pie, and an earlier DVD release featured Pinkie Pie episodes, Pinkie Pie Party.) There is of course plenty of magic in the episodes collected here, as well as lessons learned. Three of the five episodes on this disc were also included in the Season Two four-disc set.

“May The Best Pet Win!”

In “May The Best Pet Win!,” the other ponies are playing with their pets. Rainbow Dash wasn’t invited because she doesn’t have one. Fluttershy is excited when Rainbow Dash expresses an interesting in getting a pet, and so she sings a song, offering many choices. Rainbow Dash can’t decide, and so holds a contest, the winner of which will become her pet.

“The Mysterious Mare Do Well”

At the beginning of “The Mysterious Mare Do Well,” the official Rainbow Dash fan club holds a meeting about how awesome Rainbow Dash is. It’s odd that the pony with the biggest ego would have a fan club. But then she rescues a pony from a well and performs other heroic feats, drawing a crowd each time and basking in the hero worship that follows. Rainbow Dash hires Spike to be her ghostwriter, leading to my favorite moment of the episode: Pinkie Pie exclaims, “Spike’s a ghost,” and runs away. A mysterious pony shows up to perform heroics, and Rainbow Dash gets upset.

“Read It And Weep”

Rainbow Dash ends up in the hospital after an accident, and gets caught up in a book that Twilight Sparkle lends her (after first saying that she doesn’t care for reading). I appreciate its pro-reading message. And fans of Raiders Of The Lost Ark will enjoy much of this episode.

“Daring Don’t”

This fourth season episode is a follow-up to “Read It And Weep.” It begins with Rainbow Dash sharing her excitement with Fluttershy over the next book in the Daring Do series. When she learns the publishing date has been pushed back, Rainbow Dash thinks helping the author with daily chores will give her time to write and finish the book. There’s a wonderful joke with a red line appearing on a map showing the ponies’ journey to find the author, and then cutting to Pinkie Pie with a red paintbrush in her mouth marking the ground. When they arrive at the house, they find it trashed, and soon the ponies discover a secret about their favorite author. There are more Raiders Of The Lost Ark references. And the author is named A.K. Yearling, obviously a nod to the author of the popular Harry Potter books.

“Rainbow Falls”

In this recent episode, Rainbow Dash leads a team to the trials for the Equestria Games, but then practices with the competition. Pinkie Pie acts as cheerleader, and Rainbow Dash learns that friendship is more important than winning.

Bonus Feature

The DVD includes one bonus feature, a “Find A Pet” sing-along. Yes, you can sing along with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash on this song from this disc’s first episode, as the words are at the bottom of the screen.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: A Dash Of Awesome is scheduled to be released on March 25, 2014 through Shout! Factory.

DVD Review: Achmed Saves America

Jeff Dunham is a stand-up comedian and ventriloquist who has done several specials on Comedy Central. In 2012 I reviewed Jeff Dunham’s Minding The Monsters special, which features segments with different characters he’d created. By far my favorite character and puppet was Achmed, the terrorist. And now that character gets his own animated movie, Achmed Saves America.

The movie opens with a live action introduction with Jeff Dunham talking about cartoon characters with his Achmed puppet, leading to Achmed saying he wishes he were animated. Then the animated film begins, with Achmed riding a motorcycle with a bomb across the desert. His first line, which is directed at us, is “I will kill you.” Perfect. His boss calls him on his cell phone, upset that Achmed hasn’t killed any infidels, and calls him “the worst terrorist in the whole non-Muslim world,” a nice way of not offending people while simultaneously making fun of the idea of having to avoid offending people. Achmed responds, “As a devout non-Muslim, I am offended by that.” He then accidentally blows himself up, becoming the skeleton terrorist that we all know and love, and in the process landing on a plane heading for the United States.

He ends up in a town called Americaville, with plans to kill everyone. He is soon picked up a family who believes he is Claude, the French exchange student they were supposed to meet at the airport. Achmed keeps a terrorist journal, which creates opportunities for him to voice his observations. Seeing foreclosure and “For Sale” signs, Achmed notes, “Their town is in terrible shape and their lives are filled with emptiness and failure, yet they don’t take the obvious route of blowing themselves and everyone around them up.”

Achmed soon loves the people of the town and joins in a parade (“where people wait all night to get great seats to watch other people walk”). The boy in the family secretly wishes to be a ventriloquist (perhaps modeled on a young Jeff Dunham), leading Achmed to say, “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” (I always appreciate when folks poke fun at themselves like that.)

There are some really funny lines that had me laughing aloud, like when Achmed notes, “These are nothing like the Americans I was taught to hate, which makes me hate them more” (which is followed with, “Plus, I had no idea women could drive”). And when a redneck says, “You’re the real hero, two hundred and ten percent American,” Achmed reponds, “You people suck at mathematics.”

I love that this movie pokes fun at Bill O’Reilly, Oprah Winfrey and crazy cult member Tom Cruise. There’s also a good joke regarding the television series 24, and an E.T. reference. But there are also some weak jokes, like the blow job/leaf blower bit. The movie is a bit on the tame side, which surprised me, as I expected it to be a little edgier. Achmed comes to love America pretty quickly, and so he becomes a bit soft. There are some obvious, easy targets, like the early shot of a street with nothing but Starbucks coffee shops.

But I did laugh out loud several times. I really appreciate this line (spoken by the redneck character): “It ain’t ironic if you don’t get the joke.” There is also a musical sequence.

Special Features

The DVD contains some bonus material, including The Making Of Achmed Saves America, in which Jeff Dunham talks about the characters and about doing many of the voices himself (we see footage of him recording the various parts). There are also short interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with Perry Zombolas (storyboard artist), Mike Guerena (colorist), Ryan Mattos (animator) and Leo Papin (editor). This bonus feature is approximately five minutes long.

There is also a commentary track by Jeff Dunham, Kelly Asbury (who directed Gnomeo And Juliet, wrote a book about ventriloquists and helped Jeff Dunham design the look of the characters for the special) and Michael Price (who wrote the script for Achmed Saves America, and also writes for The Simpsons). Jeff Dunham mentions that the animators, without telling him, placed Jeff's other characters in the background throughout the movie (including Walter and Peanut). They discuss the style of the animation.

Achmed Saves America is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 18, 2014.