Alan Partridge DVD Review

Alan Partridge

Screener copy provided for review. This post contains my Amazon associates link.

When I received an email letting me know that there was a feature-length Alan Partridge movie coming out, I knew I had to check it out. Alan Partridge is a fictional character that has been portrayed by Steve Coogan in a number of comedy shows on British TV over the years. Partridge’s character is an obnoxious, egotistical and incompetent DJ and TV host whose misadventures have always been funny to watch. The last time I personally saw the character was in re-runs of a series that aired some time ago – Alan Partridge made his initial debut in the 1990s – so I was glad to hear of a new spin-off and wanted to check it out.

In the eponymous Alan Partridge, we see Partridge in the present day working for the radio station North Norfolk Digital. As the station gets taken over by corporate interests, there is a shake-up that leads to the firing of fellow DJ Pat (Portrayed by Colm Meaney), thanks mostly to Alan throwing him under the bus. Pat decides to get his revenge by taking the radio station hostage, putting Alan in the position of being the negotiator between Pat and the police…and you can just imagine how well that all goes.

I found the humor in this movie feature to be a bit different that what I was used to previously from the character. Since this was a film rather than TV, it seemed they were “Going big” with a lot more over-the-top humor and unsubtle gags. I thought there was promise for Alan facing off against the equally-smarmy young DJ who joins North Norfolk Digital, but the film mostly focused on the “action” storyline with the hostage situation at the station, which ran too long and fell flat for me personally. I’m still an Alan Partridge fan, but I felt like the talented cast was under-utilized in this outing.

Alan Partridge comes out today, June 10th, and is available on Amazon – click here for more details.

Delivery Man Blu-ray Review

Delivery Man Blu-ray

Promo copy provided for review. This post contains my Amazon Associates link.

You may recall that last summer, I was one of 533 bloggers to share a sneak peek at the trailer for Delivery Man, which came out in cinemas in November. Once again, I am grateful for how quickly movies are released onto DVD and Blu-ray these days, because I never got a chance to watch this in the theater while it was running – Jai and I got so sick over the holidays that I barely made it into the cinema to see 47 Ronin, and I’m usually at every Keanu movie opening at midnight. As you can imagine, my “To-watch” list has gotten huge with all of the movies that have come out in the past few months, so I was pleased when a Blu-ray of Delivery Man arrived in the mail this week so that I could get caught up on one of the flicks on my list!

Starring Vince Vaughn, Cobie Smulders, Chris Pratt and Bobby Moynihan, Delivery Man follows the life of loser-with-a-heart-of-gold David Wozniak. David isn’t having the greatest week: He’s in huge amounts of debt to a couple of goons who will break his kneecaps if he doesn’t pay up, his family is mad at him, and he finds out his girlfriend is pregnant. Things take a turn for the crazy when an unexpected visitor shows up: He figures it’s a gangster coming to kill him, so imagine his shock when he finds a lawyer, serving him with a class action lawsuit…from 533 children. As it turns out, David made numerous donations to a fertility bank in the ’90s, which resulted in hundreds of pregnancies. Those children, now grown, want to know the identity of their biological father and are suing to find out.

David then embarks on quite the adventure, enlisting his friend/aspiring lawyer to defend him in the suit. When he receives a stack of legal paperwork naming the plantiffs – over 100 of his biological children – he decides to track down each one and casually make friends with them, not revealing his true identity. David starts to think of himself as their “Guardian Angel” and tries to help each of them on their path in life. As the lawsuit closes in and David’s girlfriend approaches her due date, this slacker faces some tough decisions as he tries to figure out the right thing to do.

The next part of my review contains some minor spoilers, so click on the blurred text to read it!

I have to say, this is one of the most upbeat movies I’ve seen in a while. I kept expecting some tragedy to befall David and unravel everything – I thought for sure one of his daughters was going to overdose after he signed her release from a hospital rather than send her to rehab, but nope, everything turns out just fine; better than fine, because everything is perfectly resolved and everyone is happy at the end of the movie. It’s really, really sweet – the film is not realistic by any means, but honestly, most of the time I am complaining because movies are too depressing. Films are escapism for me, because as far as I’m concerned, real life is stressful enough without having to be stressed out over fictional characters, too. It’s very relaxing and nice for me when a movie is just straight-up happy!

This film raises some questions about modern-day fertility treatments and navigating the ethics of them – Delivery Man veers towards being a little hokey and stereotypical at times, but it’s well-meaning (Just like David!) and really is a cute movie to watch if you want to forget about your problems and watch something really happy.

Delivery Man was released on DVD and Blu-Ray this Tuesday and is available on Amazon and other fine retailers.

What would YOU do if you had 533 children?

Holiday Gift Guide 2013: The Virginian on DVD & Blu-Ray

The Virginian

A promotional DVD will be provided for this post.

If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for the hard-to-shop-for man on your list – Christmas is next week, aaahhhhh!!!! – then why not check out an updated version of a western classic? The Virginian is a contemporary version of the well-known television show. Starring Trace Adkins and Ron Perlman, this action/western film follows a brutal ranch enforcer and the city slicker writer who investigates him. It’s available at Walmart on DVD for $14.93 and Blu-Ray for $19.97. Click here to check it out online!

Still from The Virginian

Q&A With Director Tommy Reid

This week, I spoke with filmmaker Tommy Reid about some of his current projects. Reid is known for his work on movies such as Kill the Irishman and Danny Greene: The Rise and Fall of the Irishman and has worked as a director/writer/producer for 13 years. His films have featured everyone from Christopher Walken to the voice of “Bender” in Futurama and his sister, Tara Reid. His latest flick is $uperthief: The Mastermind Behind America’s Biggest Bank Heist, a documentary about Mafia career criminal Phil Christopher, who is famed for a major bank robbery in 1972.

Q: Can you give our readers an overview of what $uperthief is about?

A: Gladly. $uperthief is a captivating documentary that goes inside the mind of one of America’s best bank burglars, Phil Christopher, and we learn about how they pulled off America’s Biggest bank score in 1972, getting away with more than $30 million dollars.

Q: What inspired you to make this film?

A: What inspired me to make this film was the ability to tap inside a criminal’s mindset to learn about the ins and out of pulling of America’s biggest bank heist, takes knowledge, bravado and courage, and somewhat of stupidity. I wanted to show all this.

Q: How did you go about arranging the interviews for this film?

A: I wanted to obtain both sides of the law. Getting both the police/FBI and then Phil’s side, would be the best way to show the film’s contrast.

Q: What was the most memorable part of filming $uperthief?

It was travelling to Cleveland to capture these interviews. We had a great time and then went to Putin Bay after. Good times.

A: Tell us about your upcoming projects.

I just finished a film that I produced called I KNOW THAT VOICE, a voice over documentary that puts a face to the voices we all know and love. My partners are John DiMAggio (Bender of Futurama) and Lawrence Shapiro. Our trailers have been viewed over 1 million times. Very cool doc.

Disney’s “Planes” Movie Review

Disney's Planes

Complimentary movie admission was received.

On Monday night, Jai and I headed into Tigard for an advance screening of Disney’s Planes at Bridgeport Village. The theater is right next to a pizza place that I had a gift card for, so we enjoyed a nice dinner and then settled in for the movie.

Planes follows the adventures of Dusty Crophopper, a cropduster that has big dreams of becoming a daredevil flyer and competing in a major air race. With a little help from some other planes and automobiles, Dusty sets off for the experience of a lifetime!

I enjoyed some of the sly jokes in the film; for example, the planes sit at a bar sipping gas cans, and at one point of the film, they mention a plane who was disqualified from the race for using a banned blend of super-powered petrol that “Blurs your vision” – hahaha! At another point in the film, Dusty lands on a giant aircraft carrier called the “Flysenhower”. I also noticed that they paid attention to details in the plane universe. At one point when the planes are flying, you notice a flock of little gliders below them made to look like birds; and when they race through New York, you see the Statue of Liberty as a giant plane.

Although this movie has been aimed more towards little boys, I loved the inclusion of Dottie, a smart and skilled mechanic who also happens to be female. There are also two girl planes participating in the race, although they are mostly relegated to love interests, so nothing groundbreaking there.

This movie has a “Sporty” feel to it, with sports newscaster planes narrating the action as the planes race from one location to another. The 3-D really suits this movie, since it makes the loop-de-loops and aerial tricks more impressive as you feel like you’re flying along with them. At the heart of the action is a story about overcoming odds to achieve your dreams, facing your fears, and doing the right thing. I’ll admit that I even got choked up at points towards the end! The plot develops exactly as you would expect, so there are no shocking twists here – just a cute little flick that kids and parents can enjoy together.

Disney’s Planes hits theaters today, August 9th!

Moves Like Jagger, or Moves Like Muppets?

Moves Like Muppets

As a Maroon 5 superfan, it always warms my heart to hear their music in moves and TV. In the new trailer for Muppets Most Wanted, Scooter and a group of penguins cut a rug to “Moves Like Jagger”. They even got their own hashtag, #MovesLikeMuppets, for people to share their dance moves – haha! I have to say, my dance skills are more on par with the Muppets than with Jagger.

And of course, what kind of fan would I be if I didn’t tweet out something on a Maroon 5 hashtag? I am @hardertobreathe, after all:

Yes, that’s my Christina Aguilera Barbie – who better to duet with the Muppets on a “Jagger” cover than the Xtina doll, after all? And yes, this is my first-ever Instagram video…

They’re Going to Revoke my Nerd Card When They Read This

Thor: The Dark World

I’ve loved comics since I was a child. You’ve seen the photos of me as a toddler having a tea party while dressed as Spider-Man. You’ve seen the comic book themed parties that I’ve hosted, and my superhero costumes. So I’m going to lose all my comic nerd cred here: I am seriously behind on all the comic book movie adaptations that have come out in recent years. Thor: The Dark World is already coming out and I haven’t even seen the first one yet. I know! The fact that I’m way behind on movie viewing should come as no surprise, since it took me a decade to watch Memento. The funny thing is, I’ve actually seen the South Park parody of Thor, but not the actual movie itself. That seems to be a theme in my life, because I also saw the South Park parody of Inception before I saw that movie, too. I was actually able to follow the plot of Inception a lot better for having seen the South Park version first…

Anyway, I’d like to see this one when it comes out, since Thor is a character whose origin story hasn’t been done to death yet. Batman is my favorite comic character, but there’s only so many reboots I can stand because I already know the whole story inside out, back to front. And I have no excuse, because the first Thor is on Netflix so it will be easy to catch up. Well, actually, I do have ONE excuse, namely that I haven’t turned on a TV or watched Netflix in about 2 months because I’ve been so busy. I did watch one Power Rangers DVD, but that was just so that I could write an article – I wouldn’t have had time otherwise. Come to think of it, if the only TV I’ve watched all summer is Power Rangers, then perhaps my nerd card is safe after all.