The Feathered Serpent - Complete Series - 2-DVD Set Review

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(More customer reviews)A re-release (70s vintage) British TV series originally targeted to youth. The plot revolves around the forced political marriage between prince & empress of 2 tribes, but the bulk of the story is suspense, intrigue, and deception through politics, religious followings, and personal greed. Good rivals evil. Priests of the good god Ouala and the bad god Teshcata each have their political followers and enemies. Who will survive? The struggle lasts through 12 episodes, each about 25 minutes.
This 2-DVD complete series set seems reminiscent of Disney TV archival re-releases from the same and earlier time periods. They must be reviewed as that, not a comparison with today's high-tech film events like Avatar. 1970s alter-human character shows like Battlestar Galatica, Wonder Woman, & The Incredible Hulk for instance followed the sixties Mission Impossible, Star Trek, and Lost in Space. The Feathered Serpent TV show went backward, historically, not forward into time. Now it is revived after 3 ½ decades. Elaborate costumes seem to have been heavily influenced by Anasazi Kachinas. That also happened in Star Wars. Other influences from Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Aztec, and Native American cultures.
All episodes have SUBTITLES available. Series 1 originally aired in 1976, series 2 in 1978.
1-1 Emperor Kukulkhan wants peace the The Feathered Serpent god Ouala. High Priest Nasca wants human sacrifice and its god Teshcata. A servant lad, Tozo, brings a token to Empress Chimalma, forced fiancée to Prince Huemac.
1-2 The secret passages become known to blind priest Otolmi and Tozo, whom he saved. Heumac is well received causing Mahaoutec jealousy.
1-3 Kukulkhan must spend a night in the Teshcata temple. Toxo explores the secret passages. Gen. Mahoutec challenges Heumac to a duel. Nasca manipulates much evil.
1-4 The empress intends to honor Kukulhan's wish & marry Heumac. He finds a map piece. Nasca continues his evil schemes even at a heart-letting funeral.
1-5 A poisoned Empress, an imprisoned Heumac, & an attack upon the Tula army. Tozo to the rescue with mad accusations spewed by Nasca.
1-6 A rescue from the chamber of Screams. Will the Pyramid of the Sun see a human sacrifice? Nasca seems to produce a sign from his god Teshcata.
2-1 God Quala reinstated and evil is vanquished? Heumac must prove worthy to marry the Empress via the Stone Cage.
2-2 Keelag has performed a miracle and a plague of misery is planned for the city. Inside the Stone Cage a life or death struggle continues.
2-3 Keelag teaches her resurrected student some mind control. The royal wedding nears but where are the required crowns of Chichen Itza? Again, will Tozo save the day?
2-4 the royal couple is hypnotized and the city wells are poisoned with madness. Tozo is tortured in his search for the sacred mirror.
2-5 Tozo needs rescued from Xipec. It is Heumac that makes the attempt, while Chimalma is further deceived by Nasca.
2-6 The final confrontation between good and evil. To one god goes the spoils.
This is fictional drama but based loosely on the Nazca people of Peru. The Mayan god, Kukulcan, was real, and The Feathered Serpent a religious cult. Some connection can also be found in characters with the Mesoamerican cultures of the Toltecs (Central Mexico) and Aztecs. The later defeated the former yet considered them predecessors and claimed the Toltec gods and spiritual rites. One god was Quetzalcoatl (Quala?) or The Feathered Serpent. Tezcatlipoca used black magic to drive Quetzalcoatl to the ocean & human sacrifice began. Cortes arrived in 1519, mistook as a god, and was helped by Aztec Emperor Montezuma II to conquer Central American lands.
More historical background for this series is on disc 2. Look at that prior to viewing the 12 episode complete series. It adds credibility to the story fictional portrayal.


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Stan Lee Presents - Mosaic (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Stan Lee sets up a new super heroine, with a bit of a twist on one of his older character premises -- that of one of Spider Man's old villains, the Chameleon -- by creating a new character, Maggie; an up and coming actress and college student, who finds herself thrust into a situation that leads to an unexpected adventure.
I won't spoil this too much, but it involves a search for ancient artifacts, a race of shape-shifters and a freak accident that gives Maggie her newly-acquired abilities (seems to be a classic Stan Lee approach to how a normal person becomes a super-human, but it really never gets old).
Anna Paquin does great, as do the rest of the voice cast (notable is Gary Chalk, from recent TRANSFORMERS fame).
The film does do some conventions that you don't normally see in animation (blood and broken bones, to name a few), so I really don't recommend this for younger kids. A few jaded comic book fans may just yawn at the story, but the writing is classic Marvel (Scott Lobdell did the screenplay, based on Stan Lee's story). I only recommend this for any true collector of Lee's work and animation in general, but aside from that I enjoyed this DVD.
- SRS

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Spider-Man 3 (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)While I may not have the credibility of some of the other reviewers listed (this is the 1st review I've ever done for ANYTHING) I do know what I like (The Spidey Series, X-men Series, and Blade 1 and 2) and dislike (Daredevil, Ghost Rider and Friggin Cat Woman, OH. MY. GOD.).
With the amount of character content that was introduced in this latest installment, I think Sam Raimi did an outstanding job. He gave the fans exactly what they had been looking and asking for. Of course, any one of the villains this time out could have had their own Spidey film (and perhaps should have) but again, the fans had spoken and to me, it was handled marvelously.
The character and story progression was handled very well. The action was just what you've come to expect from Raimi (and he didn't disappoint!)and the pacing was just enough that I didn't find myself restless at anytime due to the length of the film. I think that Raimi presented us with one of the truest presentations of comic-to-film adaptations possible, and no one can take that away from him (THE most true to date - TO ME - was SIN CITY, Rodriguez just dumped the film straight from the comic to the screen with that one). I loved the Goblin upgrade. I loved the Sandman CGI and battle sequences with our hero. I loved Venom (although, admittedly, wished that there could have been more time with him) and the over-all satisfaction and relief I felt after 1st hearing that there was even going to BE an S3 (you kind of get a little worried about sequel disappointment - "awww maaann, they should have stopped at 2" Blade 3 anyone?).
Of course it was far from a flawless film but the things that I would pick on that I didn't like would probably be glossed over by someone else (I LIKED the little dance number Peter had and the Travolta, 'Saturday Night Fever' shout out Raimi added)so I won't bore you with what I felt were shortcomings and let you make your own decisions.
What it boils down to is Yeah, I'd recommend this film to my pickiest friends with a cheese eating grin on my face and two thumbs way the heck up. I could get into some of the other unfolding story and character points but honestly feel that you'd like to see what they are for yourself (and hope you won't think me a sucky reviewer after seeing it). Go. There's nothing stopping you...

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The Venture Bros: Season 4, Vol. 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)Seriously? People are feeling "ripped-off" because they're not waiting to release the first half of season 4 with the second half? Call me crazy, but I personally will pay whatever they ask, simply because it's easily one of the best written and voiced shows of the past decade. I will show my appreciation with monetary ease, cause truth be told I'm a bit sick of falling in love (or even in like) with a well-done show only to have it cancelled for lack of whatever (Starz being the most recent executioner of brilliance with the cancelation of Party Down). I'm delighted to not have to wait an extra eight months to enjoy something that was originally aired eight months prior. I'm aware of the necessary "tightening of the financial belt" for some, in fact empathetic since currently I'm an unemployed writer and know what it means to be thrifty. But don't say it's a scam. I promise you, Cartoon Network executives aren't sitting in a boardroom somewhere wringing their hands, conspiring to part as many people from their hard-earned change as possible. If you really can't spend the extra few bucks then don't, I'm sure your patience will be rewarded with an extra awesome box set like the one they did for Home Movies. Maybe I'm the crazy one for not seeing the point of your financial argument.
(not really though)

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Questions are answered and truths are revealed. Learn how Henchman 21 copes with life without 24. See what happens when Brock and the Venture family are forced to part ways. Discover the final fate of H.E.L.P.eR. And all the while, the balance of the free world hangs in the hands of Dean Venture, who must kill Hitler.

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Kick-Ass (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)What a wacky movie this is. When I first saw the previews, I thought this Kick-Ass was going to be aimed at kids and teens. Boy was I way off, because it earns it's R rating many times over. I really had no intention of seeing this film until I saw the very positive reviews flowing in from the critics. Not that I always agree with them, but in this case I would like to thank them for getting my butt down to the local theater today.
Parts of the movie reminded me of Watchmen. You have everyday people who are sick of bad things happening to good people, decide to put on costumes, have funny hero names, and then beat and cut apart the bad guys in a not so nice way. I actually thought it was rather tame in the gore department, compared to what I read about beforehand, but the violence and language is way too strong for kids.
The acting is good from everyone. I liked newcomer Aaron Johnson as Kick-Ass himself. Nicolas Cage turns in one of his better performaces in a long time, though I think he was great in an over-the-top kind of way in The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is still doing his McLovin thing in every movie since Superbad, but it worked again. Mark Strong is kind of one note as the villain, like in Sherlock Holmes, but I think he's a little better in this role. The real star of the show is little 11-year-old, Chloe Moretz, as Hit-Girl. She is clearly the most memorable thing in a movie with a bunch of stuff worth remembering. As the daughter of Cage's Big Daddy hero, she spews out bad language, slices and shoots baddies by the dozens, and loves her daddy. I want one of my own.
Kick-Ass is serious in tone most of the time, but there are some killer comedy bits and lines that had the whole theater erupting with laughter. The music is well placed in key scenes and the director/writer, Matthew Vaughn, did a fine job in creating a comic book film that should please both fans and non-fans of the genre alike.
Even though it looks like Kick-Ass will come in #1 this weekend, it still feels more like a cult film to me. I can easily see this movie being talked about decades from now, much like Army of Darkness, but without the campiness factor. What a breath of fresh air in a genre that has just as many misses as it does hits.

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'How come nobody's ever tried to be a superhero?" When Dave Lizewski - ordinary New York teenager and rabid comic-book geek - dons a green-and-yellow Internet-bought wetsuit to become the no-nonsense vigilante Kick-Ass, he soon finds an answer to his own question: because it hurts. But, over coming all the odds, the eager yet inexperienced Dave quickly becomes a phenomenon, capturing the imagination of the public. However, he's not the only superhero out there - the fearless and highly trained father-daughter crime-fighting duo, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, have been slowly but surely taking down the criminal empire of local mafioso Frank D'Amico. And, as Kick-Ass gets drawn into their no-holds-barred world of bullets and bloodletting with Frank's son Chris, now reborn as Kick-Ass's arch-nemesis Red Mist, the stage is set for a final showdown between the forces of good and evil, in which the DIY hero will have to live up to his name. Or die trying'

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The Maxx: The Complete Series Review

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(More customer reviews)I just got my copy today and am absolutely thrilled. The comments by the previous reviewer as to the video quality are more a comment on the quality of the animation itself. I've had three different copies of the show prior to this DVD and if I'm understanding him correctly, the flaws he's talking about were always there.
I have a taped copy that I have made myself from when the show ran in a marathon after it finished airing the very first time. This one is taped on archival library quality VHS that holds up amazing well (the tape cost $20 at the time in 1995). I also have another copy taped from the first airings on two separate regular VHS tapes and I have the store-bought tape that edited out 13 minutes of the show. I watched the hell out of the regular VHS tapes, but only watched the archival one a couple times and recently made a DVD transfer of it. I just finished watching the new DVD and comparing it to my archival DVD and am thrilled with these DVDs with just a couple of exceptions that I will address later.
As far as the picture quality, it looks stunning compared to all previous copies I had. I'm not watching it on a HDTV or an upconverting DVD player. Just a 32" Samsung and my 5-disc Toshiba player from several years back. But, the colors and sharpness have never looked this brilliant on this show. Yes, there are some animation flaws (like when Maxx is climbing out of the kitchen sink and there's a black line on the bottom of the water), but they have been there from the original airing. They are problems with the original source material and not these DVDs. I think some of the problems the previous reviewer mentioned might just be more obvious because the picture is sharper and cleaner. The bluriness of old TV airings on VHS tapes hide a lot of flaws, and this show was made CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!
Now, for people looking for negative things, there are just a couple. The music changes from the VHS tape are still here. Any instances of "I Wanna Marry a Lighthouse Keeper" have either been removed completely (like when Julie goes to the police station) or have been replaced with "I'm in Love with a School Bus Driver" (in every other instance). Also, the background song has been completely removed from when Gone attacks Glorie, and the songs have been replaced when Julie is first shown in bondage at Gone's factory, when Maxx is chasing the Isz through the city streets, and when the white Isz has climbed up and is spying on Julie through her window.
Also, two small edits still exist in this version. When Maxx is running away from Retquark'n at the beginning of episode 7, after he says "All I have to do now is reach it," the line "By Rikkirackk, I love the run. To make my legs stretch into the grass" has been removed so it just goes right into him saying "Run Run Run". Also, in episode 9, when Julie asks Maxx if he thinks they can be killed, and he says "Absolutely, I'm sure of it". Her, response "Now there's a happy thought" is missing.
Other than those music changes and the two small edits, these DVDs exactly match the broadcast versions I had taped.
Just a warning as well, both discs played fine on my older Toshiba player, but on my cheap $50 Sony DVD player, while the first disc played fine, the second disc "Special Features" menu will not come up. The episodes play fine though. Also, my computer will not even recognize these discs, even though it plays other homemade burned DVDs fine. Not a big problem, but I was just wanting to make some comparison screenshots for some friends.
All in all, if you're a big fan of the series and of the comics, like me, and have watched your old VHS tapes over and over again, buy these DVDs!! Buy them now! If you're looking for top notch animation to watch on a HDTV as reference quality animation or something, you'll want to skip it. This is not Blu-Ray anime.

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